New York City mandates vaccines for all private businesses amid Omicron spread

New York City declared on Monday that all private-sector employers must implement Covid-19 vaccine mandates for their workers, as the highly transmissible Omicron variant has spread to at least one-third of US states.

The biggest US city set a Dec. 27 deadline for all 184,000 businesses within its limits to make their employees show proof that they have been vaccinated.

In addition, children 5 to 11 years old must get at least one vaccine dose by Dec. 14 to enter restaurants and to participate in extracurricular school activities, such as sports, band, orchestra and dance, Mayor Bill de Blasio said.