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Mayor Bill de Blasio said it was “inappropriate” for the mayor of Boston to compare his new dining vaccination requirement to slavery and birtherism — and said she may not know what the New York rules really entail.
“I am hoping and praying she hasn’t heard the details, and has been improperly briefed because those statements are absolutely inappropriate,” said de Blasio during his daily press briefing.
“This is a way to save lives, this is a way to stop the delta variant, which is threatening the entire life of this country.”
The mayor struck a conciliatory tone, insisting Acting Mayor Kim Janey received misinformation about New York City’s soon-to-be-implemented regulations.
“I’m assuming the interim mayor has not heard the whole story, because I can’t believe she would say it’s Ok to leave so many people unvaccinated and in danger.”
On Tuesday, de Blasio announced that Big Apple restaurants, movie theaters and gyms will need to require that patrons show proof they have received a vaccination to enter the venues. The policy will go into effect on Sept. 13. Children under 12, who are not yet eligible to receive a COVID-19 shot, will be able to accompany vaccinated adults at restaurants, the mayor clarified Wednesday.
During a recent TV interview, Janey said the regulation targets non-white people, analogizing it to voter ID laws and birtherism.
“During slavery, post-slavery, as recent as, you know, what the immigrant population has to go through here, we’ve heard Trump with the birth certificate nonsense,” Janey told WCVB. “Here, we want to make sure that we are not doing anything that would further create a barrier for residents of Boston or disproportionally impact BIPOC communities.”
De Blasio maintained that such “muscular” COVID-19 precautions are necessary to stop the spread of COVID-19, as the highly contagious Delta variant has driven a recent uptick in cases in the five boroughs.
“We tried a purely voluntary approach for seven long months, tons of incentives, lots of tender love and care, lots of communication, lots of respect, lots of dialogue with health-care professionals,” said the mayor on Thursday.
“We’ve done that. It’s time for something more muscular to save lives.”