New York City will mandate patrons show proof of vaccination prior to entering indoor establishments, including restaurants and gyms, Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) is expected to announce Tuesday.
The announcement comes one day after Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D-NY) begged private business owners to discriminate against unvaccinated patrons by denying them entry to their establishments.
New York officials are calling the program the “Key to NYC Pass,” which is expected to begin this month. According to the New York Post, “enforcement will begin in September following a public service announcement campaign, administration officials said.”
Patrons will be required to show businesses their proof of vaccination via the Excelsior pass, which New York rolled out this year, or present their Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) vaccine card to gain entry.
The Democrat mayor has hinted that more severe measures against the unvaccinated are forthcoming.
“We’ve got to shake people at this point and say, ‘Come on now.’ We tried voluntary. We could not have been more kind and compassionate. Free testing, everywhere you turn, incentives, friendly, warm embrace. The voluntary phase is over,” he said during an appearance on MSNBC last week.
“It’s time for mandates, because it’s the only way to protect our people,” he added, doubling down during Monday’s press briefing.
“More and more, there’s going to be a reality where, if you’re vaccinated, a world of opportunity opens up to you. If you’re not vaccinated, there’s going to be more and more things you can’t do,” de Blasio warned.
“I say that to say, ‘go get vaccinated, so you can fully participate in the life of this city,’ because that’s where things are going,” he added.
On Monday, Cuomo offered a similar warning, urging private businesses to discriminate against the unvaccinated.
“Private businesses, I am asking them and suggesting to them go to vaccine-only admission. Go to vaccine-only admission. We did this,” he said. “Radio City Music Hall months ago reopened vaccine-only, sold out all the shows. Sports arenas, they went up to about 90 percent vaccine-only.”
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“Private businesses, bars, restaurants — go to a vaccine-only admission. I believe it’s in your best business interest,” he said, explaining that he, personally, wants to know if the individuals in his close proximity are vaccinated when he is at a bar or restaurant.
“If I go to a restaurant and I’m sitting at a table, and the table right next to me, I want to know that they’re vaccinated. I believe it’s in your business interest to run a vaccine-only establishment,” he continued before touting the state’s vaccine passport, the Excelsior pass.
“We have passes. They’re on apps. They’re on phones. It’s very simple. You can operate a restaurant. Just say you have to show that you were vaccinated when you walk in the door. It’s going to help your business, not hurt it,” he claimed, pitching the requirement as the ultimate incentive to force people to get vaccinated.
“If you say to people, well if you don’t have a vaccine, you can’t get into these establishments, then you’ll see a real incentive to get vaccinated,” Cuomo added.