WASHINGTON — A day after D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser announced she would start easing several COVID safety policies, a Ward 1 councilmember says she's drafting emergency legislation to reinstate the city-wide vaccine mandate for businesses.
Bowser announced Monday that effective Tuesday, establishments in the District no longer need to require patrons to show proof-of-vaccination to enter.
Following Bowser's announcement, D.C. Councilmember Brianne Nadeau took to Twitter and say she was "flabbergasted and angry" about the move—especially as a parent of two children too young to get vaccinated.
"Why would we give up on vaccines when we have come this far?" she tweeted Monday. "Why are we not protecting the workers in these industries? Why are we telling parents we don't care if they participate in society?"
Nadeau added that lifting the mandates would have a "chilling impact on businesses."
"People who were going out and eating indoors BECAUSE of the mandate will not do that anymore," she tweeted. "So if this was supposed to be a pro-business thing, y'all messed up."
Nadeau tweeted Tuesday to "stay tuned" for an emergency bill she drafted to reinstate the mandate.
"I plan on asking [Phil Mendelson, who chairs the D.C. Council,] to call a special session of the Council this week so we don't have to wait two weeks to act," she tweeted.
Mendelson said in an interview with WUSA9 he plans to bring Nadeau's bill to a floor for a vote on Friday.
"I don't see how [Bowser's decision] squares with the science," Mendelson said.
Bowser also announced Monday that she was not going to extend the city's mask mandate that will expire on Feb. 28. So, on March 1, masks will not be required at many indoor facilities, such as restaurants, gyms, grocery stores and other retail businesses. But they will still be required in schools, health care facilities and transportation settings.
It's unclear if Nadeau's legislation plans to maintain indoor mask mandates at certain facilities in addition to reinstating the vaccine mandate.
WUSA9 reached out to the mayor's office for comment on Nadeau's proposed legislation but did not receive a response at the time of this story's publication.