District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser announced Wednesday that DC will begin requiring proof of at least one dose of Covid-19 vaccine to enter all restaurants, bars, and nightclubs as well as indoor cultural and entertainment venues starting Jan. 15, 2022.

The new vaccine mandate will also apply to gyms and indoor meeting and event establishments throughout the District of Columbia.

Excluded from the the new covid mandate are: churches, places of worship, museums, grocery stores, and other retail stores.

District of Columbia government officials said they wanted to focus on places where people gather and congregate that pose a risk to the public at large.

Mayor Bowser said there would be some exclusions for “quick-trip” establishments like fast food.

“We don’t need those type of shutdowns [like in 2020], but we need more people to get vaccinated and boosted,” Bowser said at a press conference.

Mayor Bowser said the District of Columbia is not asking businesses to be “sleuths or detectives” but to make their “best-effort” to ensure patrons in the District of Columbia comply with the new rule. Washington DC Businesses will be required to post signage informing patrons that proof of vaccination is required.

The new vacince requirement extends to all patrons ages 12 and older. The District of Columbia will expand the vacine requirement to two doses of a Covid-19 vaccine starting Feb. 15, 20222.

For more information on how this mandate will affect you our your business, please contact Antonoplos & Associates at 202-803-5676