New York Mayor Lifts City-Wide COVID Mandates

COVID-19 vaccinations have been mandated in New York since summer 2021 for those looking to gain entry to any of the city’s nightclubs. 

New York was the first US city to implement the requirement. Now, as the virus continues to mutate and preventative measures shift local and national policies, New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced on March 4 that vaccination proof would no longer be mandatory to attend live events in the city.

At a Times Square news conference, Adams stated that beginning March 7, vaccination status would no longer be necessary to attend New York concerts or patron restaurants, bars, and gyms. 

Based on data analyzed, Adam explained that the rates of Covid cases in New York are currently low enough to justify removing current COVID mandates set in place for businesses and nightlife venues in the city.

“We’re going to follow the numbers and the science, that’s how we got here. [New York] is far from out of the woods, and COVID is still here, but we are beating it back. New York is back,” said the Mayor.

Large-scale festivals of the likes of Coachella and Stagecoach announced last month that they would no longer require attendees to show proof of a negative test prior to entry, leaving many to wonder if the recent overhaul of mandates will set a precedent for other festivals to follow suit with scrapping COVID-19 preventative measures and entry policies.

Adams also stated that New York restaurants may choose to keep preventative policies if they choose, but overall the city-wide restrictions will be removed.

Watch the press conference in its entirety here.