Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz announced Monday that a new mask mandate would go into effect in public places – Phase 1 of an attempt to curb the latest wave of Covid-19 infections in Western New York.
Free Street Tavern owner Joshua White said he when he heard that, he decided to skip "right to Phase 2" – requiring proof of being fully vaccinated to enter his Niagara Street spot.
That means people won't have to wear masks while inside his bar.
"So if you’re not prepared to show proof of vaccination please don’t come here and please don’t pay attention to any Yelp reviews we get for the next 72 hours," White posted on Free Street's Facebook page.
It's an option some bars are taking as the mask rule went into effect ahead of Thanksgiving Eve, traditionally one of the busiest nights for bars in Buffalo as expats return for the holiday.
People are also reading…
That's allowed, said county spokesman Peter A. Anderson.Â
Venues such as KeyBank Center and Highmark Stadium are exempt from the mask requirement because they already require proof of full vaccination, Anderson said.
Other establishments can do the same, but they must check each patron's vaccination status.
"If venues do not require proof of vaccination to enter, then masking is required," Anderson said. In such cases, patrons of bars and restaurants must wear a mask if they're not seated, similar to those imposed last summer when establishments reopened to indoor dining following the lockdown.
Poloncarz announced a series of increasingly stringent steps the county would take if the new mask requirement doesn't bring down the number of new Covid-19 cases and hospitals continue to fill up. Phase 2 is requiring proof of vaccinations for all bars, restaurants, hair salons, gyms and other such requirements. The third step would involve restrictions on capacity and the final would be shut downs.
"The medical profession was pleading with us to do something," Poloncarz said Monday.
According to the Erie County Health Department's Tuesday morning Twitter update, 258 Covid patients were hospitalized in Erie County as of Sunday, which was an increase of nine from Saturday. On Nov. 8, that number was 173.
"We really need to keep the hospitals from being inundated," Poloncarz said. "We could hit 300 patients by Dec. 1. That's very scary."
County officials plan to re-evaluate how the mask mandate is doing in three weeks, but if there's a dramatic increase or decrease, that timeline could change, Poloncarz said.
Mister Goodbar on Elmwood Avenue was among those that announced that their establishment would start requiring proof of full vaccination.
"Starting today we will be requiring proof of vaccination to all patrons," the bar's Facebook page said Tuesday. "As always, masks are encouraged, however customers will not be mandated to wear a mask. Be safe so we can continue Good Times with Good Friends at Goodbar!"
Bobby Rabb, the owner of Mister Goodbar, said he and his staff figured it would be much easier logistically to just require vaccines.
"It would be extremely difficult for us to enforce mask mandates," he said. "This way, we get to require the proof of vaccine at the door and concentrate on what we need to inside the bar."
Rabb posted four signs about the vaccine requirements at the entrance to the bar Tuesday, he said.
"Our door guy is going to be checking IDs anyways so at that point they're just going to check vaccine cards, too," Rabb said. By checking both, the doorman will also be able to make sure the names on the driver's license and vaccine card match.
White said when he decided to require vaccination proof at Free Street Tavern, he didn't realize patrons of the Niagara Street establishment would be allowed to forgo masks.
"I literally just found out five minutes ago that you didn't have to wear a mask if you did that," he said in a phone interview Tuesday morning. "We were planning on wearing masks still. We announced that as a preventative measure to keep unvaccinated people from even coming."
New York City began requiring proof of at least one vaccine dose for indoor dining in August. The seven-day average positivity rates there have been around 1-2% while they have soared to near 10% in Western New York.
Restaurant owners who met with Poloncarz ahead of his announcements told him that they didn't think it was fair to put the onus on restaurant workers to enforce a vaccine mandate.
The vaccination mandate is already in effect in New York City restaurants and bars, but Joe Jerge, owner of Mulberry's Italian Ristorante, said he didn't want to place his workers in the position of enforcing it here.
