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Sacramento Zoo's Plans To Reopen On June 1 Rescinded Hours After Announcement

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — The Sacramento Zoo says their plans to reopen on June 1 were rescinded by the county Monday evening.

The zoo initially announced its plan to reopening on June 1 with new guidelines in place to ensure social distancing around 2 p.m. Three hours later, the zoo tweeted "After receiving initial permission from Sac County health officials, our plans to reopen on June 1 were rescinded this afternoon. We will continue to work with government officials to plan for a safe opening. Thank you for your support patience. Stay tuned."

A spokesperson for the zoo told CBS13 they were notified by the county that zoos are under stage 3 reopening, and therefore do not qualify under stage 2.

The zoo has been closed to visitors since March 13. Back in April, the zoo laid off 52 people and furloughed another 17. An additional 28 employees also had their hours reduced.

RELATED: Big Deficit Prompts Sacramento Zoo To Lay Off Dozens Of Employees

The zoo initially announced that they would be reopening thanks to Sacramento County approving their plan of strictly limiting attendance. As part of the plan, the zoo was going to require that all tickets be purchased and reserved in advance online. The tickets would have also been timed so that only a certain number of visitors are allowed in the zoo at a time.

It's unclear at this time why the zoo's plan was rescinded. More information will be posted on the zoo's website.

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