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To protect employees and customers, the San Francisco Bar Owner Alliance — a group that represents 300 businesses in this tourism-dependent city — announced Monday that its members have decided to limit indoor service to those who have been vaccinated or can prove they are COVID-free. “Effective Thursday, July 29, it will be the official position of the SF Bar Owner Alliance that any customer who wishes to remain inside our establishments show proof of vaccination or a 72-hour negative COVID-19 test,” the group’s statement reads. “Guests without these verifications are welcome to sit outside in parklets or other spaces we offer.” The notice added: “It will be up to each individual bar to decide how best to enforce this.” (Zavoral, 7/26)

The spiking infection rates and alarming climb in hospitalizations may feel familiar, but the delta-fueled fourth wave of the coronavirus is unlike anything the United States has seen before as health officials scramble to contain the so-called “pandemic of the unvaccinated.” In every part of the country, including California, infections are increasing rapidly among both the vaccinated and those not yet inoculated as the delta variant cements its foothold as the dominant strain. Yet the big picture obscures an important distinction: People who are not vaccinated are driving this surge — in some places being infected at rates five or six times higher than the vaccinated. (Allday, 7/26)

Gov. Gavin Newsom compared choosing to remain unvaccinated to drunk driving and denounced high-profile conservatives including Fox News host Tucker Carlson in a rare public rebuke as COVID-19 spreads in California and adds political pressure on the governor ahead of the recall election. “We’re exhausted by the right-wing echo chamber that has been perpetuating misinformation around the vaccine and its efficacy and safety,” Newsom said Monday. “We’re exhausted by the politicalization of this pandemic and that includes mask wearing that has been equated to the Holocaust. It’s disgraceful. it’s unconscionable and it needs to be called out.” (Luna, 7/26)

Making a fresh push for vaccinations as coronavirus cases climb in California, Gov. Gavin Newsom turned political as he announced new requirements for state workers and health care employees to show proof of vaccination, blaming “right wing” politicians and media for perpetuating misinformation about the shots. “They’re misinforming people, they’re literally putting people’s lives at risk,” Newsom said on MSNBC, echoing similar comments in a news conference and on CNN Monday, where he specifically criticized Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and Fox News host Tucker Carlson. (Ronayne and Har, 7/27)

The lawmakers attacking coronavirus measures and flirting with anti-vaccination messages could find themselves in political trouble in the 2022 midterms, say some political analysts and rivals. And even though more Republicans have pivoted to touting vaccine benefits in recent weeks, advocates warn they may have already done themselves damage. (Diamond, 7/26)