The new rules take effect on Jan. 3. But business owners are wondering how to verify vaccine cards are legit and handle issues that arise.
3 years ago
Outdoor dining at Parc on Rittenhouse Square. (Emma Lee/WHYY)
Ask us about COVID-19: What questions do you have about the coronavirus and vaccines?
Philadelphia’s indoor dining vaccine mandate officially takes effect Jan. 3.
Restaurants must require patrons to show proof they are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 if they want to dine indoors. Employees will also have to show that they are vaccinated.
For the next two weeks, restaurants may accept a negative COVID-19 test in lieu of proof of full vaccination if the test is from the past 24 hours.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “fully vaccinated” against COVID-19 is still defined as having received either both shots of the Moderna or Pfizer vaccine or one shot of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
Restaurant employees have until Feb. 3 to be fully vaccinated. Under the vaccine mandate, eateries are required to test their workers weekly for the coronavirus until their staffs are fully vaccinated.
Exempted from the vaccine mandate are patrons under age 5 and those with proof of valid religious or medical exemptions. Those patrons will be required to show negative COVID-19 tests from the past 24 hours if entering an establishment whose capacity exceeds 1,000 people. (This does not apply to children under age 2, who can’t be easily tested for COVID-19.)
Mayor Jim Kenney and Health Commissioner Dr. Cheryl Bettigole said the new policy is a precaution amid a rising wave of COVID-19 infections that is now being fueled by the fast-moving omicron variant.
More Philadelphians are testing positive for COVID-19 than at any time during the pandemic, WHYY’s Billy Penn reports, though hospitalizations are less than half of what they were last winter.
More than three-quarters of Philly’s adult population is fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to city Health Department data. For residents over age 12, over 71% are fully vaccinated.
WHYY News’ Aaron Moselle contributed reporting.
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