All restaurants, bars, clubs, gyms and large indoor events will be required to obtain proof of vaccination from patrons and employees to protect against the continued spread of COVID-19
San Francisco, CA: The cities of San Francisco and New Orleans on Thursday ordered patrons to show proof of COVID-19 vaccinations to enter restaurants, gyms, bars, clubs, theatres and entertainment venues.
The move by the two liberal cities came on the same day that school board members in Houston voted to support a mandate by the district superintendent to require students to wear masks in classrooms and on school buses.
Additionally, San Francisco’s order creates a new proof of vaccination requirement for large events at indoor venues, requiring attendees who are age 12 or older at events with 1,000 people or more to provide proof of vaccination. Previously, state and local rules required proof of vaccination or testing to attend indoor mega-events with 5,000 people or more. Under the updated San Francisco order, providing a self-attestation of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test in lieu of proof of vaccination are no longer options for people 12 and older to attend these indoor large or mega-events. Sponsors of outdoor events with more than 5,000 people attending are strongly urged to require proof of vaccination for patrons and staff.
The health order requirement for proof of full vaccination for patrons of indoor public settings, including bars, restaurants, clubs and gyms goes into effect on August 20. This requirement includes indoor event spaces where food or drink is served. By that same date, those businesses must use their best efforts to ascertain the vaccination status of their employees. To preserve jobs while giving time for compliance, the proof of vaccination requirement for staff goes into effect on October 13 for employees.
The vaccination requirements for indoor events, both private and public, that have 1,000 people or more in attendance go into effect on August 20. There is a limited exception for those events where tickets were sold before August 12 for events occurring by September 15; instead, those events may allow proof of negative testing as an alternative to proof of vaccination. The additional health care workers covered by the update to the order must be fully vaccinated by October 13.
The requirements may be subject to limited exemptions under state and federal law. Also, the new requirements for proof of vaccination do not apply to individuals ineligible for vaccinations, including children under 12 years old. But everyone, including children two years and older, still must comply with applicable indoor mask requirements under local and state health rules.
“In this phase of the pandemic, we must optimize the powerful tool of vaccines to protect us as we fully reopen to business,” said Director of Health, Dr. Grant Colfax. “These past few weeks have demonstrated how important it is that everyone eligible is vaccinated as we resume normal activities.”
“We are issuing these new health requirements because indoor, public settings where people congregate in close quarters, often with their masks off, are the main way that the virus spreads,” said Acting Health Officer, Dr. Naveena Bobba. “With the increased COVID-19 case rates, we need everybody who is eligible for a vaccine to get one now.”
San Francisco’s current 7-day average daily cases are 246 and the test positivity rate is 5.6%. This is compared to the peak of the winter surge when daily cases averaged 373 and the test positivity rate was 5.2%. As of August 8, 109 people were hospitalized, compared to 265 at the peak of the winter surge. The numbers demonstrate that even as cases soar, today’s surge is much less deadly than the previous ones with the most severe cases and hospitalizations among the unvaccinated.
The updated health care order puts another measure in place to boost vaccination rates. The City and County of San Francisco have required that all 35,000 City employees be vaccinated 10 weeks after final approval of one of the vaccines by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, which is expected shortly. Additionally, all employees at “high risk” healthcare and congregate settings, including acute care hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, homeless shelters, jails, and other locations, must also be vaccinated by September 15.
“Two weeks ago, we started requiring proof of vaccination to dine inside in an effort to ensure the safety of our staff and our customers. We are thrilled to see San Francisco move boldly to make this a citywide policy as we strongly believe this is the best way to get beyond this pandemic,” said Mat Shuster, Chef/Owner of Canela Bistro & Wine Bar.
“The San Francisco Venue Coalition fully supports the City and Mayor Breed’s efforts to keep us all safe, healthy, and best prepared to fortify the City against the severity of the COVID-19 pandemic. These increased provisions hopefully will expedite all public gathering places ability get back to doing what we all love—is a space for the community in service to all San Franciscans,” said Casey Lowdermilk, Co-Founder of the San Francisco Venue Coalition.
