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Visitors to San Francisco bars may soon have to show up with vaccine cards at more bars. The San Francisco Bar Owner Alliance, which represents 500 bars, said on Tuesday it was considering a new program requiring guests to show proof of vaccination before entering.
With cases of COVID-19 returning to the Bay Area and beyond due to the delta variant, the group’s founder and chairman, Ben Bleiman, said the topic was in discussion with its members. SF Gate first reported on the development; Bleiman confirmed the news to The Chronicle.
Not all members of the bar would be required to participate in the vaccine requirement. Those who do will likely have signage up front telling bar visitors to show a photo of their vaccination card or a QR code indicating they have been vaccinated. The Alliance is expected to make a formal decision next week and will likely issue a public statement informing clients of the decision.
Some Bay Area establishments have already moved to require proof of vaccination or have said they will, including SF Vesuvio Cafe spots, Make-up room and Latin American club and Eli’s Mile High Club of Oakland. What is not clear, however, is how many restaurants and bars will follow.
Eli immediately received a backlash for his decision. In Oahu, Hawaii, where restaurants and bars can stop social distancing if customers prove vaccination or a negative COVID test, many businesses have stopped asking for proof of vaccination because they were also experiencing pushback.
Yet some owners want to be proactive for the benefit of their staff and customers. Bleiman told SF Gate he didn’t want to wait for a city or state term and potentially put his employees and customers at risk amid the continuing increase in cases. His bars include Popinski’s Soda, Tonic, and Teeth, and he’s considering a vaccine requirement for all three.
Health experts have long advised against eating indoors, saying it will only become truly safe once a majority of people are vaccinated. They say the risk to people who have been vaccinated remains low even if they contract the virus, but they have the potential to pass it on to others and unvaccinated people continue to be at high risk. Additionally, it is impossible to know how many people are vaccinated in a restaurant or bar at any given time, making the effort of eating indoors a risky proposition for many.
Just over 60% of eligible California residents are vaccinated on Tuesday, although San Francisco has a higher vaccination rate. 83% of people over 12 have a single dose, while 76% have both doses.
Los Angeles County recently decided to re-enforce indoor dining masks due to the increase in cases. The Bay Area and adjacent counties did not require it, but most now recommend people to mask indoors again, outside of when they eat and drink.
This is a developing story and the Chronicle will update the post with more information.
Tanay Warerkar is the associate food and wine editor of the San Francisco Chronicle. Email: [email protected]. Twitter: @TanayWarerkar
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