PASADENA, Calif.—A Pasadena Health Officer Order was issued today, Sept. 27, that requires proof of COVID-19 vaccination or a pre-entry negative test for outdoor mega events starting Oct. 7; children under 12 years of age are exempt. The Health Officer Order also requires vaccination verification for customers and employees at indoor portions of bars, breweries, nightclubs and lounges.
The requirement for vaccine verification or a negative test within 72 hours prior to attending an outdoor mega event aligns with President Biden's recently announced national COVID-19 action plan, Path Out of the Pandemic, and applies to outdoor venues and events with more than 10,000 attendees that are ticketed and/or have controlled points of entry to a well-defined area, such as sporting and music events. Outdoor mega event organizers must prominently place information on all communications, including reservation and ticketing systems, to ensure guests are aware of the proof of pre-entry testing or full vaccination status requirement, requirement for everyone to wear a mask while in attendance, and acceptable modes of verification. Self-attestation cannot be used as a method to verify an attendee’s status as fully vaccinated or as proof of a negative COVID-19 test result.
Many mega event organizers have already established verification systems and are requiring proof of vaccination for patrons. Pasadena Public Health Department is offering large venues and organizers of mega events technical assistance to comply with these requirements.
Customers receiving indoor service in bars, breweries, nightclubs and lounges, and employees must provide proof of at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine by Oct. 7 and full vaccination by Nov. 4. These establishments primarily serve adults and already require patrons to show proof of age; children under 12 are exempt from these requirements. Although the new order does not apply to restaurants, vaccination verification for customers dining indoors is strongly recommended.
This order puts in place safety measures to address the continued need to reduce community transmission of COVID-19, which is still at a Substantial Level of the CDC framework in Pasadena, and to increase vaccination coverage as we enter the fall and winter seasons when COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations surged to extremely high levels last year.