ORLANDO, Fla. — Leaders from the government to hotel chains, to theme parks and big box stores, met virtually Wednesday, sharing ideas on how to jumpstart Central Florida's economy.


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They convened as Orange County's Economic Recovery Task Force amid a sharp rise in the state's coronavirus case numbers.

Dr. Raul Pino with the Florida Department of Health in Orange County explained that although hospitalizations and ICU visits are increasing, they are not proportionate with cases, positing it may be due to the virus skewing to a younger demographic.

Meanwhile, hospital systems, such as AdventHealth and Orlando Health, discussed capacity and bed space. Both administrators said that the hospitals are good shape for now, but only if the community simply continues to wear masks. They touched upon the county's mask mandate.

“I do totally agree with Dr. Pino, the Mayor," said Dr. George Ralls, Orlando Health's Medical Chief Quality Officer. "I think mandatory masking is the right thing to do. I think from the community side, it’s a matter of compliance.”

Pino reluctantly admitted that the state's testing strategy "has not been the best," noting that those who are tested need to get their results more quickly in order to better mitigate the virus's spread.

 

 

Leaders also gave updates about professional sports teams returning to play in Central Florida during the pandemic.

“We’ve been looking at hundreds of different models as to how to restart the season," said Alex Martins, who serves as CEO of the Orlando Magic.

Martins said that 22 NBA teams, including the Magic, will do it at Walt Disney World's ESPN Wide World of Sports beginning on July 7.

Players will be traveling with smaller groups of 35 people or fewer; they will quarantine in their rooms and be subject to testing every other day. After three weeks of training camp, games will begin on July 30, televised across the globe — without fans in the stands.

The MLS, too, will start up their respective season at the Wide World of Sports complex on July 8, according to Caesar Lopez, CAO/Chief Legal Officer of Orlando City Soccer Club.

“With Orlando, all 26 MLS teams will be competing here with what we have branded as 'MLS is Back Tournament,'" he explained.

The games will run through August 11 without fans in the stands either.

“We’re going to find innovative ways to engage folks from a media perspective," Lopez promised.

Those in the hospitality business, like Luis Arancibia, the general manager of Aloft Orlando Downtown, know that such games played without fans won't necessarily bring back visitors to Central Florida yet.

But promoting a sense of safety and semblance of a return to normalcy will impact future bookings.

"We’re next to the Amway Arena. Sports has to come back, corporate business has to come back. So, I think we have to all be on the same page," said Arancibia.

Prior to the pandemic in March, Aloft was at 80 to 90 percent occupancy. The modern hotel along South Orange Avenue saw bookings plummet to the teens and 20s.

In that time period, the hotel began working with a skeleton staff of essential workers, meaning every staff member pitched in and helped in new areas.

“When you go from having 65 team members to 9, that’s a big change," he said.

In recent weeks, Arancibia said that the hotel's occupancy rate has slightly improved, to 20 to 40 percent.

But it's still unclear what the future holds or how rising coronavirus case numbers may affect bookings.

“We have the social responsibility to run a business and keep everyone safe," Arancibia said. “I think Florida has to become the state that assures people [that] we’re ready to deal with this type of pandemic, no matter how long it lasts; that we can responsibly welcome people back."

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