San Francisco to mandate proof of full vaccination to enter some indoor places; 'COVID compliance team' will 'help with educating businesses'

San Francisco will soon require proof of full COVID-19 vaccination to enter indoor places such as bars, restaurants, gyms, clubs, theaters, and other entertainment venues, KGO-TV reported.

What are the details?

The vaccine mandate — set to go into effect Aug. 20 for patrons and Oct. 13. for staff — does not include individuals ordering or picking up food and drinks to go or to children under 12 years of age, since they are not eligible for vaccines, the station said.

A negative COVID test no longer will be considered an exemption to being fully vaccinated under the new mandate, KGO reported.

"We are not out of the woods as it relates to COVID, we are still going through it," Mayor London Breed said, according to the station. "Of course, we're sick and tired of it, but it's not sick and tired of us."

The order also extends to certain health care providers not included in the state vaccination health order, such workers at adult day centers, residential care facilities, and dental offices, as well as home health aides and pharmacists, KGO said.

How it works

The station said businesses will be required to verify that each patron's ID and vaccination card match before allowing entry indoors; customers can show their actual vaccination cards or photos of them as well as register their vaccinations with the state.

But some business owners told KGO they're not keen that mandate enforcement has fallen into their hands.

"We don't want confrontation with anybody on their political views as far as vaccines go, I'm just here to feed people," Danielle Reese, who owns Queen's Louisiana Po-boy Café on the Embarcadero, told KGO.

Reese added to the station that "we have enough going on as it is now" and is concerned that giving customers more hoops to jump through will hurt business.

Hello, COVID compliance team

"County health officials say the city's COVID compliance team, also known as CERT team, will be reactivated on a smaller scale to help with educating businesses," KGO noted.

Laurie Thomas, executive director of the Golden Gate Restaurant Association, told the station that "if there's six people in the party, and one or two of them don't have a vaccine card, they're going to be asked to sit outside."

Dave Karraker, co-owner of MX3 Fitness, is up for the new mandate.

"We need to take every precaution possible to stop the delta variant in its tracks," Karraker told KGO. "We're already a health-driven industry and this gives our clients that one more piece of assurance that they are going to be safe when they go into a gym to workout."

Mat Schuster, owner and executive chef of Canela Bistro & Wine Bar, began requiring proof of vaccination for indoor patrons two weeks ago, the station said.

"We saw the writing on the wall, and we wanted to be part of the solution," Schuster noted to KGO.