Beginning Monday, January 3, 2022, Philadelphia stores selling food or beverages for on-site consumption will require that all who enter have completed their COVID vaccination series. Completing vaccines means they have received two doses of the vaccine Pfizer or Modern or a single dose of the vaccine Johnson & Johnson.
Employees and children ages five to three months through age 11 will need to have a dose of COVID vaccine by January 3 and complete their vaccine series by February 3.
During the first two weeks of this mandate, these establishments can choose to accept a negative COVID-19 test taken 24 hours prior to entry to the site for individuals who are not fully vaccinated. This exception will end and everyone must be fully vaccinated by January 17, 2022. After January 17, the use of negative tests will no longer be allowed to enter establishments that serve food indoors.
COVID vaccines are one of the best ways to prevent and delay the spread of COVID-19. Along with the City’s mandate on indoor masks, Philadelphia’s high vaccination rates have kept Philadelphia’s case rate among the lowest in Pennsylvania.
This mandate applies to the following food serving environments:
- Restaurants with indoor dining room
- Cafes within larger spaces (for example, cafes in museums)
- Bars
- Sports facilities serving food or drink for consumption in situ.
- Cinemas
- Bowling lanes
- Other entertainment venues serving food or drink for consumption on site.
- Conventions (if food is served)
- Sala de catering
- Casinos where indoor eating and drinking is allowed
- Food fair areas must be identified and have someone check the status of the vaccine when entering the seating area.
This mandate will not apply in K-12 settings and day care centers, hospitals, group care facilities, special population providers that serve food, residential or healthcare facilities, supermarkets, convenience stores, or other establishments that primarily sell food and beverages. off-site for consumption, or at the Philadelphia International Airport, except at traditional seating restaurants or bar-style seating venues.
People with proof of valid religious or medical exemptions and children under five years and three months are exempt from the mandate.
At the time this blog is published, people have five weeks to get fully vaccinated to help us weather this winter wave and move closer to a COVID-free Philadelphia.
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