New York City’s restaurant industry grapples with easing vaccine rules

theguardian.com:

Tyler Hollinger, owner of Festivál Cafe, a “farm-to-bar cocktail cafe” in New York City, said he recently started learning Brazilian jiu-jitsu because of physical altercations with visitors who are unvaccinated against Covid-19.

The reason for the fights isn’t that Hollinger is a crusader for the city’s requirement that people show proof of vaccination to sit inside at bars and restaurants.

In fact, Hollinger, who is vaccinated and boosted, has opposed the mandate since it was announced in August and now welcomes the plan to lift it.

The city “could have denied people access to the [Metropolitan Transportation Authority], buses and subways for not being vaccinated, but instead they put the burden on small businesses … which directly harms our bottom line and only helps the city”, said Hollinger, who opened his restaurant in September 2020, meaning it has only existed during the pandemic.

As New York City and other government entities begin to lift vaccination requirements, many in the hospitality industry say they welcome the moves and think they will help restaurants and bars. “We need to be smart and safe but continue to live our lives, and we can’t continue such strict mandates indefinitely when there isn’t as strong a justification for them anymore,” said Andrew Rigie, executive director of the New York City Hospitality Alliance.

But at the same time some experts worry that lifting the restrictions too soon or too fully presents a serious health risk. After all, the pandemic is not over, there are still millions of vulnerable Americans who are unvaccinated and a new variant could rapidly arise at almost any time.

In New York, which has been buffeted by the virus more than perhaps any other American city, all those tensions