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Anyone wishing to eat, drink or exercise inside San Francisco will need to prove that they are fully vaccinated. against COVID-19, when one of the country’s toughest restrictions on unvaccinated people goes into effect.
Restaurant and bar owners said they have reached out to people who have reserved tables to remind them of the new rule which begins Friday and plan to have additional staff at the front door to check people’s proof of vaccination, in making sure it matches their ID card.
“There is definitely some anxiety about how this is all going to work out,” said Pete Sittnick, managing partner of Waterbar and EPIC Steak restaurants on the city’s waterfront.
He anticipates a slowdown in customer check-in, a possible decline in diners who do not agree with the requirement, and awkward scenarios where someone shows up without the proper documentation.
“The good thing is if someone doesn’t have their vaccination check they can still eat out. There is an option and we just have to be prepared for different scenarios,” Sittnick said.
The Mayor of London Breed announced the requirement more than a week ago in an attempt to stem the rise in COVID-19 cases, saying she feared the highly contagious Delta variant of the coronavirus could disrupt the economic rebound of the city.
A new poll from the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research shows that nearly 6 in 10 Americans want vaccination warrants for those who attend movies, sports, concerts and other crowded events. They also want warrants for those who travel by air and for workers in hospitals, restaurants, stores and government offices.
NYC also checks immunization status
New York City, was the first in the country to require proof of COVID-19[female[feminine vaccination for indoor meals, fitness and entertainment, an approach dubbed the “The Key to New York” plan that Mayor Bill de Blasio announced on August 4.
Since the beginning of August, more than 300,000 additional New Yorkers have obtained at least one shot vaccine, according to city health data. At least 5.2 million of the city’s 8.8 million people have received at least one injection, with nearly 5 million fully vaccinated.
“We don’t want to go back to the restrictions,” de Blasio said at a virtual press conference on August 4. “The key to our progress is vaccination.”
San Francisco’s mandate goes beyond that of New York, which only requires the first dose of a vaccine for indoor activities, and that of New Orleans, which requires proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test to eat and drink indoors.
The new regulations follow a number of strict COVID-19 measures imposed by San Francisco since the start of the pandemic. The city and its neighboring Bay Area counties were the first in the country to order residents to stay at home in an effort to slow the spread of the coronavirus, following a state order from Governor Gavin Newsom. More recently, he demanded that all city workers be vaccinated without the possibility of being tested regularly.
Newsom also had to toughen the rules after announcing the reopening of California’s economy in June. He called on state health workers to get vaccinated to keep their jobs and all teachers and state workers to get vaccinated or undergo weekly tests.
Support for local businesses
Local business groups have backed the new measure, saying it will protect their employees and customers and prevent them from having to limit capacity indoors. Some companies that had taken the initiative to verify proof of vaccination at the door said a city-wide policy was helping set clear expectations for all customers.
When Vegan Picnic announced in late July that it would only allow vaccinated customers, the grocery store quickly received one-star reviews on Yelp, including many internet trolls who had never eaten there, and threats to eat there. ‘appellants who viewed the requirement as a violation of their personal rights. and privacy, said owner Jill Ritchie.
“The phone was ringing with people yelling at us, and at the same time we had a surge of support from people saying ‘Thank you, I feel safe going to your store,'” said Ritchie. .
She said checking people’s immunization status is easy, and soon the computer software her business uses for online orders and payment processing will handle verification digitally and notify customers of the money order in advance.
Online reservation systems such as OpenTable also notify diners of the rule when they RSVP, and businesses that cater to the city’s tourism industry have launched a campaign called “Relax, we’re Vaxxed.” to get the word out out of town. visitors.
City officials said a paper card issued by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a photo of the CDC card, or a verified digital vaccine record would suffice. Proof of vaccination issued by foreign governments is also acceptable.
Employees trained to identify fraud
Pearce Cleaveland, co-owner of Temple nightclub, said his security guards have been trained to check all forms of proof of vaccination, as well as forged copies of vaccination cards.
“We have had people who get angry at the door when they are turned away, but in general they are understanding,” he said. “It is the tourists who are usually disappointed, when they ignore the requirement and cannot get the vaccine quickly enough.”
Workers have until Oct. 13 to prove they are fully vaccinated and Cleaveland has said he expects to be in compliance by then. The mandate does not apply to people ineligible for vaccines, including children under 12.
After a sharp increase in coronavirus cases and hospitalizations in the San Francisco Bay Area over the summer, the numbers appear to be leveling off but remain high, said Dr Peter Chin-Hong, an infectious disease expert at the University of California, San Francois.
He said the reinstatement of restrictions had helped slow the spread of the coronavirus. For example, after Los Angeles County reinstated a mask mandate for indoor businesses, the increase in daily COVID-19 cases has slowed significantly in recent weeks, Chin-Hong said.
“There is no quick fix, just a combination of a hard stick and a soft stick,” he said. “The proof of vaccination warrant is a soft stick because you can still eat outside, but if you want to hang out with people indoors, you better get the shot.”
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