14 AUGUST 12, 2021 RIDGEWOOD TIMES WWW.QNS.COM
City to mandate proof of vaccination for indoor dining,
fi tness and entertainment
BY BEN BRACHFELD
EDITORIAL@QNS.COM
@QNS
New York City will begin requiring
proof of vaccination
to access a wide-ranging set of
indoor activities, such as restaurant
dining, drinking at a bar, exercising
at a gym or seeing a live performance,
Mayor Bill de Blasio announced last
week.
“If you want to participate in our society
fully, you’ve got to get vaccinated,”
the mayor said at his daily press briefing
on Tuesday, Aug. 3. “It’s time.”
New York is the fi rst major city in
the country to adopt such a move,
which the mayor is calling the “Key to
NYC Pass.” It comes as the delta variant
upends the progress the city has made
in fi ghting the coronavirus.
Countries such as France and Italy
have already adopted the measure;
on the fi rst day aft er French President
Emmanuel Macron announced the
mandate, millions of people booked
appointments.
The new policy will launch on Aug.
16, but won’t be enforced until Sept. 13
so businesses can get acclimated and
the city can make adjustments based
on feedback.
“We know that a mandated vaccine
requirement will pose economic and
operational challenges to restaurants,
particularly in communities with
lower vaccination rates and hesitancy,
however it will also alleviate
the burden that restaurants and bars
face when implementing this policy
voluntarily,” Andrew Rigie, executive
director of the restaurant trade group
NYC Hospitality Alliance, said in a
statement. “While having to require
this requirement is far from ideal, now
we need government to support restaurants,
bars and workers with clear
and fair guidelines, and an extensive
outreach and education program,
while also implementing more policies
to support the industry’s recovery.”
Those wishing to visit indoor establishments
like restaurants, bars,
gyms or performance venues will
be required to show either their CDC
vaccination card, the new NYC COVID
Safe app or the Excelsior Pass app.
“It is very simple: I carry my wallet
with me and I pull out my card,” Congressman
Adriano Espaillat said at the
mayor’s briefi ng. “It’s as simple as that.”
People enjoy outdoor dining amid the COVID-19 outbreak in Manhattan.
REUTERS/Jeenah Moon
The mayor has been moving in the
direction of mandates in recent weeks,
starting last week with a mandate for
health care workers and then for all
city workers. The city is still using
some incentives though, such as an
off er of $100 for anyone who gets their
fi rst dose at a city-run vaccination site.
Nonetheless, the mayor has faced
criticism for inaction on implementing
a mask mandate even as delta, which is
far more contagious than the original
coronavirus, rages throughout the
city.
Council member Mark Levine, who
has been calling for a new mask mandate
for weeks, said that new policy is
what’s needed to rapidly take action
to prevent a worse outcome over time.
“We have to act to protect this city,”
Levine said. “And we’ve learned over
the past year and a half that our choice
is to act now, or to face more diffi cult
options down the road.”
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