By Sofia James/LAist
Originally published Aug 5, 2021 2:48 PM
Los Angeles might become the latest city to require proof of vaccination against COVID-19 to enter indoor businesses and public spaces, following similar requirements in New York City and Palm Springs.
On Wednesday, L.A. City Councilmembers Nury Martinez and Mitch O’Farrell announced a motion to require proof of COVID vaccination to enter indoor public spaces in the city of L.A.
The motion would instruct the city attorney to present an ordinance that would require all Angelenos eligible to have at least one dose of the COVID vaccine to enter indoor spaces. These would include restaurants, bars, retail stores, gyms, spas, concert venues, and movie theaters.
“So many Angelenos stepped up and did their part. They shouldn’t be penalized with closures by those unwilling to do theirs,” wrote Councilmemeber Martinez in a Tweet Wednesday.
The ordinance would only require that people show proof of at least a first dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine or the single dose Johnson & Johnson shot.
The motion was introduced in response to rising positive COVID case numbers in L.A. due to the delta variant. In July, the CDC reported a 70% increase in new daily cases and a 36% increase in hospitalizations nationwide. In L.A. County, new daily positive cases have topped 2,800 each day for the past week.
As of Aug. 2, over 70% of Angelenos have received at least one dose of the vaccine.
This comes on the tail of L.A. County mandating vaccinations for all county employees by Oct. 1.
This report is reprinted with permission from Southern California Public Radio. © 2021 Southern California Public Radio. All rights reserved.
