New York mandates restaurant workers and customers to be vaccinated.
In a bold move to combat the rising number of Covid-19 cases, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio declared that evidence of vaccination will be required for access for all customers and staff of indoor restaurants, gyms, and theatres. Other cities, notably Los Angeles and San Francisco, have lately resumed mask requirements, but New York is the first municipal or state government in the United States to do so. The policy will take effect on August 16, according to De Blasio, but enforcement will begin on September 13.
“If you’re unvaccinated, unfortunately, you will not be able to participate in many things,” de Blasio said of the 45 percent of New Yorkers who are not yet fully vaccinated. “If you want to participate in our society fully, you’ve got to get vaccinated.”
As the delta variety spread, an increasing number of independent pubs and eateries in New York and across the country began mandating the immunisation. Prior to the requirement, restaurants such as Wildair, Le Bernardin, Estela, Frenchette, and others took a position. And Danny Meyer made headlines as usual when he announced the demand at his restaurants late last week during a media blitz, advising potential customers, “You can dine somewhere else.”
The NYC Hospitality Alliance, a restaurant trade association, has expressed its support for the mayor’s decision. In a statement, the group’s executive director Andrew Rigie said, “Mandating vaccine requirements for restaurant and bar employees and customers to work and dine indoors is a very difficult step.” “But ultimately may prove an essential move to protecting public health and ensuring that New York City does not revert to restrictions and shut down orders that would again absolutely devastate small businesses that have not yet recovered from the pandemic.”
Though some famous restaurateurs, such as Tilman Fertitta, the CEO of Landry’s, say they encourage people to get vaccinated, they are concerned about how the mandate will be enforced in New York. He claims they aren’t given clear instructions on how to get people to comply, and he doesn’t want his employees to become “vaccination cops,” according to CNBC.
New York’s new regulation is similar to France’s decision to make the immunisation mandatory for dining. Nearly a million French individuals signed up for a vaccine appointment after President Emmanuel Macron announced the policy in July, setting a new record for the number of people booking their first shot in a single day in the country. Since then, tens of thousands more have made reservations.
Press Secretary Jen Psaki remarked during her White House briefing that we shouldn’t expect similar initiatives from President Joe Biden anytime soon. “A federal mandate from the federal government is not on the table,” she told reporters on Monday.