Amusement parks, sports and concert venues will be allowed to reopen with limited capacity starting April 1 in the state of California, state Health and Human Services Secretary Mark Ghaly announced on Friday.

California is home to Disneyland, Universal Studios, Magic Mountain and many other popular amusement parks. 

“We feel like now is the appropriate time to begin to reintroduce these activities in some fashion, and in a guarded way, in a slow and steady way,” CNN quoted Ghaly as saying.

Theme parks, sports and concert venues have been closed in California for nearly a year due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

According to the guidelines, the spread of COVID-19 in each county where a theme park is located must be reduced enough to advance out of the state’s most restrictive reopening tier for a park to reopen.

California has four tiers that are colour-coded according to the severity of restrictions with purple being the most stringent.

Los Angeles and Orange counties, home to Disneyland and Universal Studios, are still in the purple tier but are likely to advance to a less restrictive tier in coming weeks.

“Today’s announcement from the Newsom Administration is very encouraging news for California’s amusement parks. Parks now have a framework to safely and responsibly reopen. We appreciate the Administration’s willingness to work with the State’s theme parks on the finer details of the plan so parks can responsibly reopen soon, putting people safely back to work and reinvigorating local economies,” said Erin Guerrero, Executive Director for California Attractions and Parks Association, CNN reported.

Attendance at outdoor sporting events and concerts, will also be allowed beginning April 1 with up to 20% capacity for venues located in the red tier, 33% in the orange tier, then 67% capacity in the least restrictive yellow tier, according to California economic advisor DeeDee Myers.