Cities are requiring restaurants to ask staff and customers for proof of vaccination. Will this be a trend?

If there is one city that is synonymous with restaurant dining, it is New Orleans. If there is one city that is synonymous with an anything-goes attitude, it is New Orleans. And if there is one state that is synonymous with COVID-19 right now, it is Louisiana (OK, and Florida and Texas and Arkansas).

So now imagine New Orleans eateries having to ask customers for proof that they have been vaccinated or to present a negative COVID-19 test. The mayor ordered yesterday that everyone indoors at restaurants must wear masks. Jazz Fest has been canceled, too. The hospitality industry, which was hanging on by its fingernails after last year, is very worried.

The Superdome will require vaccinations or proof of a negative test, which should be quite a task for football games, which will begin soon. For now, the Saints say they will welcome capacity crowds.

A medical strike team from the National Disaster Medical System was called in to help handle a spike in pediatric COVID-19 cases in New Orleans area hospitals.

Meanwhile, San Francisco is ratcheting up the pressure on businesses to become front-line vaccine enforcers. The city will require proof of full vaccination against COVID-19 for a number of indoor activities such as visiting restaurants, bars and gyms.