New York City will become the first American city to adopt proof of COVID-19 vaccination for a variety of activities for workers and customers such as indoor dining, gyms, and performances, said Mayor Bill de Blasio on Tuesday.
âItâs time for people to see vaccination as necessary to living a good and full and healthy life,â de Blasio, a Democrat, said during a news briefing.
In elaborating, he said, âIt will require vaccination for workers and customers in indoor dining, in indoor fitness facilities, indoor entertainment facilities.â
âThe only way to patronize these businesses indoors is if youâre vaccinated,â de Blasio said. âIf you want to participate in society fully, youâve got to get vaccinated.â
The move, which the mayor dubbed as the âKey to NYC Passâ and is similar to vaccine mandates in France and Italy, will start later in August and enforcement will start in mid-September. Enforcement will begin on Sept. 13, following a public service announcement campaign, said the mayor, adding that entry will be denied to anyone without vaccination.
Itâs not clear if the pass will be extended to other venues, including supermarkets or places that sell essential items. The Epoch Times has contacted the mayorâs office for comment.
Broadway venues and Carnegie Hall, which are both in New York City, have announced they will only allow vaccinated patrons to enter their facilities. Meanwhile, Danny Meyer, the head of a restaurant group with numerous restaurants in New York City announced a similar requirement last week.
Residents will have to present the stateâs âExcelsior Pass,â the cityâs vaccine pass, or a paper issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), officials said, according to the New York Post.
De Blasio in recent days suggested the possibility of a vaccine passport-type system being implemented, mandating in late July that all city healthcare workers get the shot or get a weekly COVID-19 test. That mandate was then expanded to the entire city workforce.
âMore and more, thereâs going to be a reality where, if youâre vaccinated, a world of opportunity opens up to you. If youâre not vaccinated, thereâs going to be more and more things you canât do,â de Blasio said several days ago.
Civil liberties groups and Republicans have flagged vaccine passport-type systems as unconstitutional, saying they imperil basic civil liberties including the right to privacy. Theyâve also said that the passports would create a two-tiered society of vaccinated and unvaccinated people.
After Franceâs Parliament passed its âhealth passâ law, thousands of demonstrators took to the streets in Paris and other cities over the past weekend and the prior weekend. There were also mass protests in Italy, Greece, Switzerland, and Germany over COVID-19 mandates.
According to data provided by New York City, about 66 percent of adults are fully vaccinated.
COVID-19 is the illness caused by the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus.