Two of Walt Disney World’s four theme parks in Orlando have reopened despite a surge in COVID-19 cases in Florida.
Guests at the Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom will have to wear face masks, undergo temperature checks and follow social distancing rules.
Parades, fireworks and encounters with Disney characters will remain suspended, in a bid to avoid crowding.
Meanwhile, Epcot and Disney's Hollywood Studios will reopen from July 15.
Despite Florida reporting a staggering 109,000 new coronavirus cases over the past two weeks, park executives are confident that adequate safety measures are in place to protect their guests and staff.
"The world is changing around us, but we strongly believe that we can open safely and responsibly," said Josh D'Amaro, Disney's theme park chairman, told the New York Times.
"Covid is here, and we have a responsibility to figure out the best approach to safely operate in this new normal."
Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin on Wednesday met Russian nationals freed from captivity in the Gaza strip after Hamas' October 2023 attacks on Israel and said Moscow's longstanding ties with Palestinians helped secure their freedom.
Israeli troops will remain in the buffer zones they have created in Gaza even after any settlement to end the war, the country's Defence Minister Israel Katz said on Wednesday, as efforts to revive a ceasefire agreement faltered.
US President Donald Trump touted "big progress" in tariff talks with Japan on Wednesday, in one of the first rounds of face-to-face negotiations since his barrage of duties on global imports roiled markets and stoked recession fears.
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French jails were hit by a second wave of attacks overnight, including three cars set alight at Tarascon prison in southern France, the Justice Minister and a prison workers' union said on Wednesday, as authorities sought to identify those responsible.