Washington DC To Drop COVID-19 Vaccine Mandates For Businesses

Washington, D.C., will remove the vaccine mandate requiring people show proof of COVID-19 vaccination before entering businesses Tuesday.

Democratic Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser announced that restrictions that were put in place in December will expire on Feb. 15, according to the Washington Post. Additionally, she stated that effective March 1, the city’s mask requirement in indoor public venues will be eliminated, the outlet reported. (RELATED: DC Reimposes Mask Mandate Regardless Of Vaccination Status)

DC @MayorBowser to lift most #COVID mandates. #vaccine mandate for indoor venues expires February 15. Indoor mask mandate expires February 28. Some mask requirements remain as do @dcpublicschools vaccine & mask mandates. @nbcwashington pic.twitter.com/THUsgZVPfP

— Mark Segraves (@SegravesNBC4) February 14, 2022

Businesses such as restaurants, bars, gyms and entertainment venues will no longer be forced to check the vaccine status of their patrons. The city will also scale back the number of testing sites it has, NBC News reported.

This move comes as local leaders in the area faced growing economic and political pressure to ease restrictions, the Washington Post reported.

Democratic leaders across the U.S. have rolled back COVID-19 restrictions such as masks, despite objections from the White House and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Over 30,000 people marched to protest against COVID-19 vaccine and mask mandates in January.