Allegheny County leaders not considering blanket mask, vaccination mandates

Allegheny County leaders said Wednesday that they are not considering mask or vaccination requirements for indoor restaurants and other businesses like the mandates in New York City and Philadelphia.

Earlier this month, New York City became the first city in the country to require proof of at least one dose of a covid-19 vaccine for workers and customers at indoor restaurants and bars, gyms, and performance venues, according to the New York Times. The requirement went into effect Monday and enforcement begins Sept. 13.

Last week, officials in Philadelphia reinstated a mask mandate for all businesses indoors. That includes not just restaurants and bars, but indoor gathering spaces and indoor offices, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer.

“At this point, we are not (considering mandates),” said Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald. “But what I have seen is many organizations, including restaurants, bars, etc. that are requiring proof of vaccination to enter the event.”

He noted that even some bands – such as Maroon 5 – are requiring proof of vaccination or a negative covid test to enter their shows, locally and elsewhere.

“I think you’re going to see more and more of that as time goes on,” Fitzgerald said.

His statements come as some local organizations begin backtracking again on planned events. Organizers on Wednesday announced the annual Labor Day parade would be canceled this year.

“Our first commitment is to keep everyone safe,” said Darrin Kelly, president of the Allegheny-Fayette Central Labor Council, the group that runs the event. “We want to protect our members and the community as a whole, including the children who are going back to school this time of year.”

Fitzgerald applauded the move, but noted that it is up to each individual organization and event to decide what to do. Picklesburgh and Bloomfield’s Little Italy Days are scheduled for this weekend.

“Most of them are private events, including the Labor Day parade,” he said, noting that the Labor Day parade stands out as it is generally a day-long affair for union members and their families, many of whom bring spouses, children and grandchildren into the city. Some organizations from farther away organize bus trips to bring them into the city for the day.

“It’s not just the parade,” he said. “I think they made the right decision.”

The changes and the concern come amid a continued rise in covid-19 cases and, more recently, a slight uptick in hospitalizations has followed. Dr. Debra Bogen, health director, said the county is averaging around 200 new cases per day.

She said that, right now, it is impossible to tell exactly how many cases are breakthrough cases – a case in which a fully vaccinated individual tests positive for the virus. Limited data from the company Curative, which handles testing at county-run test sites, shows that about 30% of cases are among the fully vaccinated.

Bogen stressed that the numbers come from limited data, though the state Department of Health is working to reconcile vaccination data with new case data in an effort to more accurately track such breakthrough cases.

Allegheny County continues to have a high level of community transmission as defined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Bogen again implored people to get vaccinated. She said more than 5,000 residents got vaccinated last week.

“Getting the covid-19 infection is risky,” she said. “No one can predict how any one individual will handle the virus, both in the short-term and long-term.”