Pence visits tourism-reliant Florida as Disney shops reopen

Vice President Mike Pence visited central Florida to meet with tourism officials Wednesday as region’s biggest tourist destination — Walt Disney World — began reopening a shopping and entertainment complex.

During his trip to Orlando, Pence was also scheduled to talk to goverr and drop off protective equipment at a nursing home as tourism, state’s biggest industry, continued taking steps toward reopening.

Some third-party shops at Disney Springs complex opened Wednesday with new requirements and restrictions. All workers and visitors older than 2 must wear masks, temperatures will be checked at entrances to keep out anyone with a temperature higher than 100.4 and a limited number of people will be mitted to allow social distancing at high-end outdoor shopping area with restaurants, movie aters, a bowling alley and a Cirque du Soleil ater.

Walt Disney World and its crosstown rivals, Universal Orlando and SeaWorld, have been closed since mid-March in an effort to stop spre of new coronavirus . Officials haven’t said when me parks and hotels at resorts will reopen.

Florida’s tourist-reliant ecomy was crippled this spring with closures of me parks, beaches, convention centers and hotels. More than 2 million Floridians have filed jobless claims in a state with a 10 million-person workforce before pandemic.

Critics of Trump ministration called vice president’s visit “too little too late.”

“It’s t eugh to show up for a photo op two months later,” said Terrie Rizzo, chairwoman of Florida Democratic Party in an online news conference with reporters on Tuesday.