COVID: Berkeley Health Order with Stricter Vaccination Proof Requirements Goes Into Effect
BERKELEY (KPIX) -- Starting Monday, Berkeley is requiring proof of a COVID vaccination and booster shot for workers and customers at some businesses.
The newly revised health order also lowers the age for customers who need to show proof of vaccination at certain businesses. It's now required for everyone 5 and older.
The businesses where Berkeley is requiring proof of full vaccination include all places that serve food or drinks indoors -- that means restaurants, bars, clubs, theaters and entertainment venues -- as well as at gyms and places that hold events of 500 people or more indoors.
This revised health order lowers the age for those needing to show vaccination proof, meaning patrons along with their children age 5 and up must be fully vaccinated to enter these businesses.
Employees at these businesses must be fully vaccinated and boosted if eligible. The requirement also applies to home healthcare workers and employees at adult care facilities.
Reaction to the revised order was mixed among the people KPIX spoke with Monday. Some residents in the area who usually stop for coffee in Berkeley said it doesn't really matter to them whether employees are boosted or not.
"I think it was OK that they were vaccinated. It's always good to be boosted. It's a good idea," said Albany resident Elliott Zeller. "I don't necessarily think it needs to be a mandate. It doesn't matter so much because I'm pretty careful anytime I go into a public establishment anyway. I wear a mask and I wash my hands."
Others said they don't really think about it much.
"I assume if they're working, the employer is making sure that their employees are safe," said Albany resident Mark Camps. "I have my mask in case I need it. I sit outside most of the time."
COVID cases in Berkeley are declining after omicron hit the Bay Area hard. And while COVID is still on many people's minds, they're trying to do what they can to keep themselves safe while still enjoying day-to-day life.
"I do think about it, but I feel completely safe. Going into a gym, maybe less so. But going into a restaurant where there's a lot of ventilation, people aren't packed, I go in, I go out. I feel safe," said Camps.
The revised health order comes in contrast to what some other parts of the Bay Area have done in terms of relaxing COVID restrictions.
Health officials in Contra Costa County announced Friday certain businesses, including restaurants and gyms, are no longer required to check patrons for proof of vaccination or a negative test.
"We believe now is the right time to loosen a requirement that made a lot of sense last summer, when a different variant of COVID-19 was dominant and there was less community immunity," Dr. Ori Tzvieli, the county's acting health officer, said in a statement.
Contra Costa Health Services said it was loosening the requirement after the county reached a full vaccination rate of 80%. Officials also said the omicron surge has likely peaked and that hospitalizations have already started to decline.
Additional information on the revised Berkeley health order can be found on the city of Berkeley website.