California restaurant only fining unvaccinated diners

• Basilico’s Pasta e Vino in Huntington Beach says it “requires proof” that guests are not vaccinated.
• In June, the restaurant was fined $ 165,520 for failing to comply with California’s COVID-19 regulations.
• Meanwhile, COVID-19 cases are increasing in California and the United States.
• Visit the Insider home page for more stories.

An Italian restaurant in California demands that customers prove they are not vaccinated and discourages masks despite a local increase in COVID-19 cases.

Pasta e Vino de Basilico in Huntington Beach, Calif., Shared a Facebook post on July 22 with photos showing two anti-vaccination signs on his windows that read, “We have zero tolerance for betrayal, anti-stupidity. American. Thanks for thinking. “

“More counties, cities and US businesses are doubling down on anti-US lockdowns? Well, ‘Basilico’s Pasta e Vino’ just tripled,” said the caption of the restaurant’s Facebook post. “From day one, never respected, masks prohibited, and now … requiring proof of being unvaccinated!”

The California COVID-19 response website is currently advising unvaccinated people to wear face masks in restaurants and everyone to use them when dining indoors.

Basilico’s contempt for COVID-19 prevention has not gone unnoticed by the Department of Industrial Relations (DIR), which issued the facility five citations on June 17, with fines totaling $ 165,520 to be paid in July.

Violations in the DIR report range from “serious” to “intentional-serious” and demonstrate a failure to provide sufficient COVID-19 protection to employees and diners, according to the report. The DIR inspection found that the restaurant had not “provided face coverings and made sure they were worn by employees” inside, according to its report.

Although Basilico appears to maintain its anti-vaccination stance, according to a ProPublica database, the restaurant has accepted funding of $ 57,738 from the Paycheck Protection Program (P3). Through the P3, small businesses could apply for federally guaranteed loans that would help them stay afloat during the pandemic by covering expenses and maintaining staff levels.

Jeff Gritchen / MediaNews Group / Orange County Register via Getty Images

The restaurant’s opposition to vaccines and wearing masks comes as the highly infectious variant of COVID-19 Delta increases across the country.

California reported 3,830,008 cases of Covid-19 on Wednesday with 14.2 new cases per 100,000 people. And, according to data released by the California Public Health Department, COVID-19 positive patients admitted to state intensive care have nearly tripled since early July.

Representatives for Basilico, DIR and the California Public Health Department did not immediately respond to Insider’s request for comment.

As Insider’s Aria Bendix reported, the increase in the number of cases in the country prompted the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to update their mask guidelines on Tuesday after new evidence suggested that some vaccinated people infected with the Delta variant could spread the virus.

“Information on the Delta variant from several states and other countries indicates that on rare occasions some vaccinated people infected with the Delta variant after vaccination may be contagious and transmit the virus to others,” said CDC director Rochelle Walensky during a press call Tuesday. .

However, said Walensky, vaccines continue to be very effective in preventing severe cases: “The vast majority of transmissions, the vast majority of serious illnesses, hospitalizations and deaths occur almost exclusively in unvaccinated people. “

J. Scott Applewhite-Pool / via Getty Images

Elsewhere in the country, some restaurants are starting to require customers to show proof of vaccination.

Danny Meyer, CEO of Union Square Hospitality Group, owner of Gramercy Tavern, Manhatta and Union Square Cafe, told CNBC on Thursday that its restaurants will require diners and indoor drinkers to prove they have been vaccinated.

Dame, a New York City restaurant that opened during the pandemic, also requires diners to show proof of vaccination, as Insider’s Rachel Askinasi reported.

“We have watched with anxiety as the infection rate in New York City rebounds,” owner Patricia Howard told Insider. “We can’t control if the person next to us in the subway is wearing a mask, but we can control who can walk through our doors.”