NYC to Require Proof of Vaccination for Indoor Dining, Theatres, Gyms

New York City will now require proof of vaccination for a wide range of indoor activities like dining, fitness and entertainment, part of an increasing crackdown on those who remain unvaccinated.

The new requirement, which will be phased in over several weeks in August and September, is the most aggressive step the city has taken yet to curb a surge in cases caused by the delta variant. Enforcement of what is being called the "Key to NYC Pass" is set to begin Sept. 13, Mayor Bill de Blasio said Tuesday. It will be its own digital platform, separate from the state's Excelsior Pass, though the latter will also be valid, as will paper vaccination cards.

"Climbing this ladder is giving us more and more ability to fight back (against) the delta variant," the mayor said Tuesday.

It remains unclear, though, what the policy will be for those who can't be vaccinated -- either for medical or religious reasons, or for those under age 12 who are not yet eligible. De Blasio said some of those details are still under consideration.

But the mayor has made no secret in recent days of his intention to ramp up restrictions on the unvaccinated.

"If people still hesitate, we're going to be climbing that ladder faster and more. I think you're going to see in short order more and more activities be only for vaccinated folks," De Blasio said last week.

The move comes as the highly transmissible delta variant continues its surge in New York City unabated, now accounting 72% of all positive samples -- roughly triple where it was three weeks ago.

At the same time, virtually every important infection metric in the city is getting worse too, with daily confirmed and probable cases as of last Friday some 24 percent higher than they were a week earlier.

De Blasio said Monday he was making “a strong recommendation” that everyone wear a mask in public indoor settings but stressed that the city’s “overwhelming strategic thrust” remained getting more people vaccinated.

Asked Tuesday about a mask mandate, de Blasio said all options were on the table but reiterated the city's policy is “vaccine-centric.”

“Right now what we want to nail is people getting vaccinated, and, very bluntly, showing that life is much better when you’re vaccinated," he added. “You have more freedom when you’re vaccinated, and you have a lot less, you have fewer choices, fewer opportunities if you're not vaccinated.”

The mayor announced last week that city employees would be required to get vaccinated by mid-September or face weekly testing, and he has offered a $100 incentive for city residents who get inoculated.

De Blasio said Tuesday that he did not think checking vaccination status should be too difficult for businesses, which already have to take tickets or show diners to a table.

Some disagreed.

Seongmin Jun, the manager of Dear Han Cafe in Queens, wondered how he would check vaccination cards while handling the periodic rush of patrons and serving as the cafe’s only barista.

“Will customers get offended for checking if they got COVID vaccinations? I mean I don’t know how to do that, or even if I will have time to do that,” Jun said.

The coffee shop opened just months before the pandemic spread early last year.

“They’re making it too hard for businesspeople,” Jun said, but acknowledged something has to be done to get the virus under control. “I get what they are trying to say, but there must be another way to reduce the cases of COVID.”

Sean Ogs, manager of the nearby Woodside Cafe, said he was “floored” when he heard the news about the new vaccination mandate.

“We’ve already been in a struggle. I don’t know how I’m going to deal with it,” Ogs said. “It’s going to be extra work. It’ll make things impossible.”

Woodside Cafe customer Debbie McCarthy, who is unvaccinated, said she was turned away over the weekend from several establishments that had already begun requiring proof of vaccinations from patrons.

“I’m a little shocked they would do that,” said McCarthy, who said she recovered from COVID-19 a few months ago and believes her natural antibodies will protect from future infections. “Why are they so afraid of people who haven’t been vaccinated? I think we should have a choice."

Scientists recommend vaccination for people who have had the virus, saying it's unclear how long immunity without vaccination for those who have recovered would last.

Andrew Rigie, executive director of the NYC Hospitality Alliance restaurant group, said he supports the new policy to ensure “that New York City does not revert to restrictions and shut down orders that would again absolutely devastate small businesses that have not yet recovered from the pandemic.”

The Five-Borough Chamber Alliance agreed that the mandate was a “complicated decisions,” but said it was “worthy of support for protecting public health and keeping the city on the path to full economic recovery.”

Fitness studio owner Bill Zanker said he supports the policy as well, even though it comes as another hurdle after a long coronavirus shutdown.

“We’ve got to encourage people to get vaccinated. ... We’re happy to enforce that,” said Zanker, the CEO of GRIT BXNG, a Manhattan studio that offers boxing-related workouts and a full bar. “Unfortunately, it will affect the business again.”

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The studio had been open for just seven months before the pandemic shutdown began in March 2020. Since reopening this past May, GRIT has checked patrons’ vaccination status, offering some inoculated-only classes where people could go without masks while unvaccinated people had to take other classes and cover their faces, he said. About 25% of the patrons are unvaccinated, he said.

Major performance venues including Broadway theaters and the Metropolitan Opera have already announced that vaccinations will be required for patrons.

About 66% of adults in New York City are fully vaccinated, according to official data.

On Monday, the U.S. reached the president's goal of getting at least one COVID-19 shot into 70% of American adults — a month late and amid a surge by the delta variant that is overwhelming hospitals and prompting renewed pandemic regulations around the country.