New York City will not investigate Elio’s, an Upper East Side restaurant, because she let Sarah Palin dine inside Saturday night without asking for proof that she had been vaccinated.
City rules require restaurants to require such proof before letting guests in. Ms Palin has not been vaccinated and on Monday she tested positive for Covid.
But a city spokesman said Tuesday that the many agencies that enforce vaccination rules are only committing violations for incidents observed by a city inspector. Ms. Palin’s visit to Elio’s was revealed in a… tweet by a fellow diner.
Luca Guaitolini, the operations manager of Elio’s, an Italian restaurant that has long attracted celebrities, said Monday that the restaurant made a mistake by allowing Ms. Palin, the former Alaska governor and vice presidential candidate, to sit inside. He said employees would normally check vaccination cards for all new customers, but not for regulars who dine there weekly; Mrs. Palin, he said, had dinner with an old guest.
“She probably just walked in and sauntered over to the table,” Mr. Guaitolini said.
Anne Isaak, the owner of Elio’s, said in an interview Tuesday that the restaurant would not change its policy in response to the incident. “We just need to be more vigilant,” she said.
The situation “puts a lot of pressure on everyone,” she added. “I try to show some empathy for that one employee who has been lax for whatever reason.”
By New York City rules which went into effect on December 27, indoor guests ages 12 and older must prove that they have received both doses of a two-shot regimen such as the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine, or one dose of a single-dose vaccine such as Johnson & Johnson’s. johnson.
The requirements also state that “companies may keep records of people who have previously provided proof of vaccination, rather than requiring proof to be shown each time the person enters the facility.”
Several city departments enforce vaccination rules through inspections. Violations carry fines of $1,000 for the first incident, $2,000 for the second, and $5,000 for the third and subsequent incidents. (The accused can pay the fines online or challenge them before the city office for administrative trials and hearings.)
Of the about 25,000 restaurants, bars and other establishments that the city has inspected, 94 percent are in compliance with the rules, the city spokesman said. For those who break the rules, officials will work with the companies to resolve the issues and issue a warning before citing violations and imposing fines. The spokesperson added that most of the companies that received a warning are ultimately not quoted.
The coronavirus pandemic: important things to know
Ms. Palin, who was in New York to appear in the trial of her defamation lawsuit against DailyExpertNews, has publicly denounced the coronavirus vaccines. In a speech in December, she said: “It will be over my corpse that I have to get an injection.” (The start of the trial has been postponed to February 3 because she has Covid.)
Andrew Rigie, the executive director of the New York City Hospitality Alliance, said vaccination requirements can be difficult to enforce, and punishing those institutions that make mistakes, such as Elio’s, should not be the city’s priority.
“I think the focus should be on education and compliance first,” he wrote in an email, “and the imposition of a fine as a last resort.”