And I am not talking about food …I am talking about the recent mandate imposed by the Clallam County Health Department requiring proof of vaccination in order to sit down and eat indoors.
All patrons entering an indoor restaurant or bar in Jefferson and Clallam Counties must provide proof they are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, beginning Saturday, Sept. 4, according to a public health order issued last Thursday by Doctor Allison Berry, Health Officer for Jefferson and Clallam counties.
Employees of bars and restaurants who mask continuously while in the building do not need to provide proof of vaccination. Additionally, children younger than 12, who are ineligible for vaccination, may enter without showing proof.
I am pretty sure most restaurant owners never imagined that they would be tasked with being the gatekeepers of the pandemic. If things have not already been bad enough for them, mandated closures, limited seating, then they get to reopen and the supply chain is broken and they can’t get their food orders …then for some, they had employees with COVID, and then almost every restaurant is short of staffed and has had to adjust their hours of operation.
On Saturday it started immediately, as the mandate went into effect. On Facebook commenters were posting that they would NOT go to a place that was requiring proof of vaccination …others were posting they would NOT go to a place that didn’t follow the rules! Stuck in the middle are restaurant owners and their staff.
Neither the owners nor staff signed up for this!
I would suggest if you are not or can’t be vaccinated get your order to go. If you are vaccinated and feel this is an invasion of your privacy or are uncomfortable being around people and their unknown vaccination status ….get your order to go. Or …cook at home.
These businesses still need our support!
And confrontation? Don’t take it out on the staff. Many of our local restaurants hire young people …it may be their first job …don’t be the person that they remember for the rest of their lives. Because they will. I still remember having a banana split thrown at me almost 60 years ago…yes I will never forget that person.
To get around the mandate some are just going straight to to-go only orders ….again.
Our restaurants are just trying to survive, be kind. If you don’t like the mandate contact the county health department (clallam.net/HHS/) or our County Commissioners (clallam.net/bocc/)
Christi Baron, Editor
