COVID: Bay Area Diners Navigate Patchwork Of Rules On Vaccination Proof
PLEASANTON (KPIX 5) – As COVID-19 rules are adjusting, diners in the Bay Area are increasingly navigating a patchwork that seems to vary county by county and even restaurant to restaurant.
At the Sunshine Saloon in Pleasanton, the indoor masking requirement is in place, but no proof of vaccination requirement is in place.
"No, no requirements for Alameda County ," said R.B. Rossi, who owns the saloon.
When asked how he would feel if that changed, Rossi said, "Not good."
"The employees didn't sign up to confront people about their own personal business," he went on to say.
Proof of vaccination is required to dine in places such as Contra Costa County, the City of Berkeley in Alameda County and in San Francisco.
In Downtown Pleasanton, if you walk into any restaurant along Main Street you may be greeted with a different set of rules. Everyone needs a mask to walk in, but in terms of vaccination cards, it depends on the individual restaurant owner.
Ladies heading in for lunch came prepared just in case. "They didn't check us when we went into the restaurant just a moment ago," the diners told KPIX 5.
Some admit it's a little confusing.
"I feel like day to day we don't know. Like today we didn't have to wear a mask inside," said a diner.
Another diner told KPIX 5, "Only in San Francisco have I had to show a vaccination card, when I've gone anywhere."
Todd Utikal of the Sidetrack Bar and Grill he doesn't know how he'll feel if the vaccination card requirements change in Alameda County.
"Well hopefully it doesn't and I'm not sure where I stand on that right now. I think we are doing a great job in this county, I have not had a single complaint about wearing a mask at the front door ," he said.
Why isn't Alameda County lifting indoor mask requirements for public settings? It will when certain criteria is met, including when 80% of all residents are fully vaccinated.
At of the end of October, about 71.6% of all Alameda County residents were fully vaccinated according to the county's website.
Masking continues to be required in indoor K-12 school settings in all counties and in other settings, including hospitals and in public transit.
