Philadelphia will require proof of vaccination against COVID-19 to enter any indoor space that sells food and drink for consumption onsite, city officials announced Monday.
The City of Brotherly Love's mandate for restaurants and bars will begin Jan. 3.
Customers will be required to show proof of two doses of either the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine, or a single dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
Employees and children aged 5 years, 3 months through 11 will be required to have one dose of the coronavirus vaccine by Jan. 3 and complete their vaccine series by Feb. 3.
Philadelphia Health Commissioner Cheryl Bettigole said several studies have shown that restaurants pose a higher risk of COVID-19 transmission, including a recent study from Drexel University that showed closing restaurants lowered the risk of transmission by 61%.
"We do not want to close our restaurants," Bettigole said, according to NBC10. "So that's the reason for the vaccine mandate."
The city said food and drink establishments, for the first two weeks of the mandate, can choose to accept proof of a negative COVID-19 test within 24 hours of entry for people not fully vaccinated.
After Jan. 17, negative tests no longer will be allowed to be used to get into food establishments.
People with proof of valid religious or medical exemptions are exempt from the mandate.
Besides bars and restaurants, Philadelphia's vaccine mandate will apply to public indoor places such as cafes within larger spaces (like museums); sports venues that serve food or drink for onsite consumption; movie theaters; bowling alleys; and casinos where food and drink is allowed on the floor.
The city’s announcement said the vaccine mandate will not be applied in "K-12 and early childcare settings, hospitals, congregate care facilities, special population providers that serve food, residential or health-care facilities, grocery stores, convenience stores, or other establishments that primarily sell food and drink for offsite use, or in Philadelphia International Airport, except in traditional seated restaurant or seated bar style locations."
Several other cities, including New York City and San Francisco, already have vaccine mandates.
On Friday, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced a mask mandate for all indoor public places unless venues or businesses implement a COVID-19 vaccine requirement.
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