New York Mayor Eric Adams has announced changes to COVID-19 pandemic restrictions. Beginning Monday (March 7), indoor settings including music venues, restaurants, movie theaters, and bars, will no longer be required to check for proof of vaccination before customers enter. Adams clarified that businesses “will still have the flexibility to require proof of vaccination or masking indoors if they choose.” See the mayor’s announcement below.

New York’s vaccine mandate, known as the Key to NYC program, went into effect in August 2021. The statewide seven-day average test positivity rate was below 2 percent as of Saturday (February 27), with fewer than 2,000 hospitalizations, for the first time since last fall, per The New York Times.

“New Yorkers should be getting out and enjoying our amazing city,” Adams said at a press conference. “The fight may not be over, but we’re clearly winning the war. We are open for business and New York City has its groove back.”