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LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) – The Los Angeles City Council on Wednesday approved a sweeping ordinance that will require proof of COVID-19 vaccination to enter restaurants, bars, malls and other establishments.
The ordinance was approved by a margin of 11-2. It needed 12 votes to get through with an emergency clause that would have allowed it to take effect immediately. Instead, it can take effect no earlier than a month or November 6.
On Wednesday afternoon, Mayor Eric Garcetti signed the order requiring people to show proof of full vaccination against COVID-19.
It was the second vote on the ordinance. Last week, City Councilor Joe Buscaino invoked a city council rule that allowed him to deny unanimous consent, preventing council from voting on the ordinance at first reading. Buscaino and his fellow city councilor John Lee expressed their dissent on Wednesday.
The ordinance will apply to:
- Restaurants, bars, fast food outlets, cafes, tasting rooms, cafeterias, food courts, breweries, wineries, distillery banquet halls and hotel ballrooms.
- Gyms and fitness rooms, including leisure facilities, fitness studios (including for yoga, pilates, dance and barre), boxing gyms, training camps and facilities that organize indoor group fitness classes.
- Entertainment and leisure venues including cinemas, shopping malls, concert halls, performance halls, adult entertainment venues, commercial event and party venues, sports arenas, convention centers, exhibition halls, museums , shopping centers, performing arts theaters, bowling alleys, arcades, room cards, family entertainment centers, billiard and pool halls, play areas and game centers.
- Personal care establishments, including spas, nail salons, barber shops, barber shops, tanning salons, beauticians, skin care, tattoo parlors, body piercing shops and massage therapy centers, unless medically necessary.
FILE – Security guard Don McClaren checks clients’ proof of vaccination status before they can enter the bar inside Permanent Records Roadhouse on July 30, 2021 in Los Angeles. (Mariah Tauger / Los Angeles Times / Getty Images)
Individuals will be exempt from the warrant if they have health concerns that limit their ability to be vaccinated or a “sincere religious belief,” which will be examined by where the person is trying to enter. Exempted people could use the exterior areas of the location, but if they are not available, they may be allowed to enter the interior area by providing proof of a negative COVID-19 test.
The order will also require people to show proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test to attend outdoor events with 5,000 or more people.
Retail establishments, including grocery stores and pharmacies, are not included in the prescription.
Compliance enforcement will likely begin on November 29. Businesses that violate the order will be fined $ 1,000 for their second violation, $ 2,000 for a third violation and $ 5,000 for a fourth violation.
Representative Mike Garcia also criticized the ordinance.
“Hospitalizations and deaths are down 45% from last month, but the City is now implementing the most drastic measures to date,” Garcia tweeted, R-Santa Clarita.
This will be significantly stricter than the order passed by the LA County Public Health Department earlier this month requiring people to show proof of vaccination to enter bars, lounges, breweries, wineries. and nightclubs. They will need to show proof of at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine from October 7 and proof of full vaccination by November 4. The LA County ordinance also requires proof of full vaccination or COVID-negative. 19 tests in the last 72 hours to attend outdoor events with 10,000 or more people.
The LA city ordinance will be similar to the policies of West Hollywood, New York and San Francisco. West Hollywood’s policy requiring adult customers entering many domestic businesses to submit proof of at least partial vaccination goes into effect Thursday, with full vaccination being required from November 4.
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