A SoCal restaurant requiring diners to provide “proof of being unvaccinated”

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Credit: Pasta and wine of Basilico (FOX 11)

HUNTINGTON BEACH, California – Despite the current increase in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations, a Southern California restaurant requires diners to provide “proof that they are not vaccinated.”

“More American counties, cities and businesses are doubling down on anti-American lockdown mandates? Well, ‘Basilico’s Pasta e Vino’ just tripled: from day one, never respected, banned masks, and now .. . requiring proof of being Un- vaccinated! ” wrote the Huntington Beach restaurant on its Facebook page.

Credit: Pasta and wine of Basilico (FOX 11)

Pasta and wine of Basilico The restaurant made headlines in late 2020 when owner Tony Roman banned customers and employees from wearing face masks.

RELATED: Huntington Beach restaurant owner bans wearing masks inside establishment

“It’s our rule, if they don’t want to work here, they don’t have to work here,” he told FOX 11 at the time.

While Orange County does not require proof of vaccination one way or another for customers wishing to dine out, neighboring Los Angeles County recently reimplemented its indoor mask mandate. , regardless of vaccination status. A decision according to Los Angeles County health officials was to tackle the recent increase in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations.

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Since it became known that Pasta e Vino de Basilico required customers to provide “proof that they were not vaccinated,” the restaurant said on Instagram that it had received uninterrupted phone calls, threats and “hundreds of one-star reviews”.

“And guess what? At ‘Basilico’s Pasta e Vino’ we wear it all as a badge of honor,” read the post.

Health officials, including the country’s top infectious disease expert, have pointed out that the surge in virus cases in recent weeks has been fueled by unvaccinated people and the rapid spread of the delta variant.

“We are going in the wrong direction,” Dr Anthony Fauci said on CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday, describing himself as “very frustrated.”

Fauci, who is President Joe Biden’s chief medical adviser, said recommend that vaccinated people wear masks is “under active consideration” by key government public health officials.

RELATED: Fauci: US is heading in the ‘wrong direction’ on coronavirus

He noted that some local jurisdictions with rising infection rates, such as LA County, are already calling on individuals to wear masks in public regardless of their vaccination status. Fauci said these local rules are consistent with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s recommendation that vaccinees do not need to wear masks in public.

Tune into FOX 11 Los Angeles for the latest news from Southern California.