Starting Aug. 20, anyone 12 or older will need to provide proof of COVID-19 vaccination to enter an indoor bar, restaurant, gym or large event in San Francisco.
Proof of a negative coronavirus test will no longer suffice. So, just what exactly will the new procedure entail for customers and businesses as the city tries to limit the spread of the delta variant?
Consumers have just over a week before the new policy is implemented to find their U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention vaccination card, take a photo of it, link it to California’s Digital COVID-19 Vaccine Record or download one of three city-approved private apps that can hold a digital copy of your card.
Dr. Naveena Bobba, Deputy Director of the San Francisco Department of Public Health, told KCBS Radio's Jeff Bell and Margie Shafer on Thursday afternoon that the actual card, or any of the digital versions above, will allow you to enter any of the places subject to these new restrictions.
"We wanted to make sure we were putting policies in place that allowed businesses to thrive, as well as protecting workers," Dr. Bobba said, arguing that increasing the rate of vaccination is the city's best method to emerge from the pandemic.
The city expects most businesses to comply with the new restrictions, and Dr. Bobba said many in San Francisco have been "very forward-thinking" about requiring proof of vaccination prior to the new ordinance.
San Francisco wants to educate businesses that don’t comply with the policy rather than enforce punishments, she said.
"(There) will be an outreach team to work through these issues and work with the businesses to come into compliance," Dr. Bobba said. "If there's some egregious examples of disregard, then we might go into enforcement. But we do expect that most businesses will want to comply, and I think, actually, a lot of the public also wants this as well."
Dr. Bobba indicated city officials will hold webinars before the policy goes into effect, and they’re going to solicit questions from impacted businesses about best practices.
Although 71% of city residents were fully vaccinated as of Wednesday, 10% weren’t yet eligible to receive a dose. As of Sunday, 109 people were hospitalized with COVID-19, right around last summer’s high but far off this past winter's peak.
San Francisco's new policy was made with increasing vaccinations in mind, if not a quantitative goal.
"I think what we know, again, with the variants that have emerged, that COVID will always find the unvaccinated and cause disease,” Dr. Bobba said. "So our goal, really, is to just get as many people vaccinated. That's particularly true right now, as we know there's a whole group of people right now that’s not eligible, so it’s incumbent upon us to protect them."
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