Cuomo Wants New York Businesses To Require COVID Vaccine

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has asked bar and restaurant owners and other private business leaders to require all patrons to show proof of COVID-19 vaccination before they’re allowed to enter after seeing a “fourfold” increase in daily positive cases to more than 2,000 in the last month.

Cuomo also announced a vaccine mandate for all New York MTA and Port Authority employees by Labor Day or be tested weekly for the coronavirus. He announced a similar edict for state hospital employees last week as the Delta variant continues its upswing.

“I am asking (private businesses), and suggesting to them, go to vaccine-only admission,” Cuomo told reporters on Monday (Aug. 2). “I believe it is in your best interest.”

Disney is the latest big company to create a vaccination mandate, requiring all salaried and non-union hourly U.S. employees to be fully vaccinated by the end of September.

Restaurant Roundup: COVID Concerns Pervade as Diners Return to Bars

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is once again suggesting that even fully vaccinated people wear masks in areas of substantial or high transmission. Many New York City bars and restaurants already require proof of vaccine, with the state’s mobile “Excelsior Pass” making screening easier for many establishments.

On July 29, the New York City Council approved a bill that requires third-party food delivery services to share customer data with restaurants. Per the bill, the delivery services must share the data anytime a restaurant requests it, although customers can withdraw their consent to share their information, in which case the restaurant must delete that data.

Andrew Rigie, executive director of the New York City Hospitality Alliance, asked that the bill “be slightly amended to also require third-party reservation companies to provide customer data to those restaurants,” noting that there is “a similar dynamic there.”

Also See: Broadway Theaters Will Require Vaccines for Audience, Performers and Staff

Shake Shack is also requiring all employees and customers to show proof of vaccination, and Broadway theaters will require audience members, performers, backstage crew and staff to be vaccinated for all performances through October.