Photo by Tomas Eidsvold on Unsplash

New York City’s unvaccinated athletes and performers will be able to compete and perform at local venues under a new order reversing part of the city’s private-sector vaccine mandate. Mayor Eric Adams announced on Thursday the city will expand a current exemption that has allowed unvaccinated players and entertainers who lived outside of the city to perform or play in New York to hometown athletes and performers. The decision comes just two weeks before the start of the Major League Baseball season, allowing Yankees and Mets players who have not confirmed their vaccination status to take the field at home, as well as confirmed unvaccinated Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie Irving to play at the Barclays Center.

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Photo by Eden, Janine and Jim on Flickr

New York City will no longer require masks in public schools or proof of vaccination for indoor dining and entertainment starting March 7 if there is no spike in Covid-19 cases before then, Mayor Eric Adams announced Sunday. The announcement comes after Gov. Kathy Hochul lifted the indoor mask mandate statewide for schools. In addition to ending the mask mandate in schools, Adams said the “Key to NYC’ initiative, which has required proof of vaccination at restaurants, bars, gyms, and indoor entertainment venues since August, will also be lifted. An official decision is expected on March 4.

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Photo of NYC vaccine hub, The Jefferson by Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office on Flickr

Mayor Bill de Blasio on Monday announced a new coronavirus vaccination mandate for all private-sector employers in New York City, described as a “preemptive strike” to stop the spread of the Omicron variant. The city has already put in place a vaccine mandate for all city workers and for most indoor activities. The new mandate, considered to be a first in the United States, goes into effect on December 27.

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In March, 6sqft reported that only 10 percent of Manhattan’s office employees had returned to the workplace full-time. Since then, a recent survey shows, only 28 percent are back in the office on an average weekday. According to a survey of major employers between October 19 and October 29 by The Partnership for New York City, only 8 percent of employees are in the office five days a week and 54 percent are only working remotely. A third of employers surveyed said their need for office space will go down over the next five years, and 13 percent expect a reduction of jobs physically located in NYC, especially in the financial services industry.

-More on who’s not heading back to the office->