Contra Costa County issued a health order Tuesday requiring customers to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 before entering companies where masks are removed for eating or drinking or tending to breathe heavily for exercise.
The new health order will take effect on September 22nd. Businesses under the vaccination mandate include restaurants, bars and entertainment venues, as well as gyms and gyms, such as yoga and dance studios.
Anyone 12 years of age or older who accesses these companies will be required to show proof of complete vaccination, including photo identification and a vaccination registration card or photos of these cards. Without this test, they must present a negative COVID-19 test result in the last three days.
Workers at these companies must also demonstrate full vaccination before November 1 or take a weekly COVID-19 test.
Contra Costa will join San Francisco and Berkeley to demand so-called “vaccine passports.” San Jose will not allow people to participate in events of 50 or more people without a vaccine passport, but it has not expanded its mandate to include restaurants, gyms, bars and other businesses.
It is the latest step by local public health officials to combat the increase in COVID-19 cases spurred by the delta variant, which affected the bay area and much of the nation this summer.
“This order is needed now to save lives, protect our overburdened health care system and curb the pandemic enough to keep our schools open,” Dr. Chris Farnitano, county health official, in a statement written Tuesday. “Reducing community transmission of the virus is now key to preventing future rises in cases that affect our county’s hospitals during the winter months.”
Although the number of COVID-19 cases has declined in Contra Costa County since the peak of the delta variant rise in July, the virus continues to spread among the community.
On Monday, the county had averaged about 39 new cases per 100,000 residents each day last week, according to data from the county’s COVID-19 board. On average, only 2.6 cases a day were people completely vaccinated.
The county recorded 57 deaths from COVID-19 in August. Since vaccines were first available to Contra Costa residents in December, approximately 95.9% of all deaths have been unvaccinated, according to county data.
About 79% of county residents were fully vaccinated as of Tuesday, with the lowest rates in cities such as Discovery Bay, Bethel Island and Knightsen.