The biggest private sector investment in Manteca history — the 500 room Great Wolf indoor waterpark resort that cost $180 million to build — is going to sit empty for at least another 81 days.
Due to COVID-19 restrictions Great Wolf opted not to open Sept. 1. It is the second postponement of the resort’s opening due to the pandemic. The original opening date of Aug. 1 was pushed ahead to July 1 due to construction being ahead of schedule. That announcement was made in March some 11 days before Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a statewide health emergency. That was when the July 1 opening was announced that was then pushed back to Sept. 1
The San Joaquin County COVID-19 orders would have allowed some of Great Wolf’s operations to open such as the hotel, restaurants, and waterpark with modifications. The family entertainment zone was not cleared. Food service from its restaurants would have been limited to takeout, outdoor dining or in-room service. Great Wolf was not making plans to open its conference center facilities until the state allows larger gatherings of people.
The Garden Grove Great Wolf near Anaheim and Disneyland is temporarily closed until Sept. 30.
While Los Angeles County is in a worse position dealing with COVID-19 than San Joaquin County, opening a Great Wolf in a new market under conditions where part of the amenities could not be accessed would not be an optimal way to make a good impression even if it is weighed against pandemic conditions.
Other Great Wolf resorts across the country are open for guests with extensive social distancing and pandemic protocols in place with some locations requiring those 5 and older to wear face masks.
You can now book for the Wednesday, Oct. 28, opening day and other dates with significant discounts.
A family suite that accommodates up to six is available that day for $199.99 or $170 below the regular charge. The Wolf Den theme room for up to six is $230 off at $239.99. The Grizzly Bear Suite that can sleep eight is available for $349.99 on opening day or a $320 discount,
Rates will increase as bookings do. The rates were on the greatwolf.com website as of Friday at 10 p.m.
There are now 1,204
people currently positive
in San Joaquin County
Postings on the San Joaquin County COVID-19 dashboard on Friday as of 10:50 a.m. show 1,204 persons are currently positive with the virus
That is the number once you subtract the 11,199 people that have been determined to have recovered from the 12,303 cases since March. That means 1,204 out of 760,000 San Joaquin County residents currently have COVID-19.
Many may never have been ill.
The mask order and social distancing is designed to protect people from those who may not know they are carrying the virus and who may never show symptoms.
Of the 211 deaths as of Friday only 17.5 percent did not have pre-existing conditions such as asthma, cardiovascular disease, chronic lung disease, or diabetes.
The dashboard posted 184 new cases for the previous 24 hours.
The site stressed case data after July 27 “is severely delayed due to major technical issues in the State’s electronic reporting system. Data regarding deaths have not been impacted.
As of Friday there were 30 of 72 beds at Doctors Hospital in use. Twelve of them were COVID-19 patients with 7 using intensive care unit beds. Kaiser Foundation Hospital of Manteca had 33 beds in use, 13 COVID-19 patients, and 8 using ICU beds.
There are 184 COVID-19 patients countywide with 69 of those using ICU beds.
COVID-19 patients account for 51 percent of the ICU load. There are 135 ICU beds in use of which 36 were converted beds. That means as a group hospitals in the county are operating at 136 percent of licensed ICU bed capacity.
To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com
