Regardless of her current ability to taste or smell, former governor of Alaska Sarah Palin refused to let the pandemic prevent her from experiencing New York City in all of its culinary glory. According to Gothamist, Covid-positive Palin dined outdoors at two Upper East Side Italian restaurants this week on multiple occasions.
Palin — who has boasted that she is not vaccinated against COVID-19 — was earlier seen dining indoors at Elio’s on Saturday. Currently, restaurant-goers ages 12 and up are required to show proof they are fully vaccinated in order to dine inside. Then, Palin, who is in NYC pursuing a defamation lawsuit, tested positive for COVID on Monday. Her positive test result has delayed the start of the trial against the New York Times until Feb. 3.
But testing positive has not changed Palin’s dinner plans. After being spotted dining al fresco on Tuesday night at Campagnola, Palin returned to Elio’s on Wednesday. As of December, CDC guidelines recommend that asymptomatic people can end isolation after five days, and symptomatic people after 10. It's unknown whether Palin is asymptomatic. Regardless, Palin has dined within her five day isolation period.
Given the uptick in cases and the highly contagious Omicron variant, some restaurants have elected to impose more stringent safety measures than those currently required by the federal and local governments, including strictly enforcing the wearing of masks. But at many of these restaurants, including at Elio’s, the sole requirement for diners is that they be vaccinated.
Elio’s — an Upper East Side haunt that has hosted Tom Hanks, Mick Jagger, and other celebrity clientele — confirmed to Gothamist that it let Palin in despite a city requirement that all indoor guests show proof of vaccination. Restaurant manager Luca Guaitolini, the operations manager of Elio’s, told the New York Times that the staff “made a mistake” in letting Palin dine inside when she is not vaccinated, which is against city law. Guaitolini said employees normally checked vaccination cards for all first-time customers, but not for regulars who dine there weekly; Palin, he said, had dined with a longtime guest.
"We are taking this isolated incident — an unfortunate oversight — very seriously,” Guaitolini said in a statement to CNN on Monday. “Elio's adheres to and believes in the vaccine mandate, and all it is doing to protect our staff, regulars, and the dining public. My focus right now is on the safety of my staff who worked the floor that night, and on our guests.”
The city will not penalize Elio’s for Palin’s indoor dining on Saturday, City Hall said, because the city does not issue violations unless they are directly observed by a city inspector. Moreover, the vaccine requirement does not extend to outdoor dining, and Palin’s party of five was seated outdoors at Elio’s on Wednesday, according to Gothamist. Given the near-freezing temperatures in the city, though, Elio’s outdoor dining option is currently a “semi-enclosed dining shed on the sidewalk.”
The manager of Campagnola, Patricio Tello, confirmed to Gothamist that Palin dined there on Tuesday – the day after her diagnosis was revealed in court. The restaurant seated her and her group outside, citing the city’s vaccination policy.
While the city does not prohibit people with COVID from public dining, both federal and local guidance strongly recommends isolating for five days to protect others from contracting coronavirus. There is no penalty for New Yorkers who don’t quarantine – but there is a high rate of self-reported compliance with isolation guidelines among residents.
When asked by reporters why she continued to dine in the neighborhood, Palin said she “loved New York City,” and declined to answer further questions about her COVID status.
New York City restaurants have been under scrutiny by frustrated, pandemic-exhausted patrons for their dutiful adherence to the state’s strict mask mandate. As Omicron caused a recent uptick in coronavirus cases, many restaurants were forced to close their doors for a period of time, and fear that they may not be able to survive another lockdown.
"Our goal has always been to incentivize isolation for those testing positive for COVID and providing them multiple resources," a New York City Hall spokesperson told CNN. "That being said, we hope that anybody who has COVID is isolating for their own safety and the safety of all New Yorkers and find it highly irresponsible that Sarah Palin refuses to do so."