Starting Monday, August 16, New York City restaurants, bars, gyms, and entertainment venues will require proof of vaccination from workers and customers. In doing so, New York will become the first city in the U.S. to mandate proof of at least one COVID-19 vaccine.
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“If you’re un-vaccinated, unfortunately, you will not be able to participate in many things,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio at his last press briefing. “It’s time for people to see vaccination as literally necessary to living a good and full and healthy life.”
The Key to NYC Pass — as it’s being called — will be rolled out in phases. The details of the policy will be implemented on the week of August 16. Then on September 13, city officials will begin inspections and enforcement.
“We want to give businesses big and small a chance to get acclimated. We want to make adjustments based on their input,” said de Blasio.
Roughly 60% of all New Yorkers have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, according to city data. About 55% are fully vaccinated.
Mayor Fulop will not mandate proof of vaccination in Jersey City
Although New York and New Jersey have followed similar guidelines during most of the pandemic, Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop said in a Facebook post that he has no plans on issuing a vaccine mandate and will instead wait for statewide guidance from the governor.
“With regards to instituting vaccine requirements to eat at a restaurant or to attend a gathering similar to what NYC implemented today, our approach at this point has been careful and clear that we want to wait for statewide guidance from the governor,” reads the Facebook post. “We have learned over the last year that a patchwork of local polices in Hudson County and broader NJ is more detrimental than beneficial and will ultimately put further strain on the fragile health & economic environment for residents & small businesses. We will monitor our situation here in JC closely and also stay in communication with Governor Murphy here to see what they deem best but at this point we will not take selective action here. If we need to deviate we will explore that option but our default position is to work together with the Governor.”
