#Broadway to require vaccine proof, masks when shows return

It’s showtime — for vaccine passports!

The Broadway League announced Friday that Manhattan’s famed strip of theaters will require audiences, performers and backstage staff to show proof of vaccination against the coronavirus as the city’s performing arts ready for their fall return.

Additionally, audiences will be required to wear masks while in the theaters, except while eating and drinking in designated areas.

The directive covers Broadway’s 41 theaters and will remain in place through at least October and could be extended depending on public health guidance, the league said in its press release.

This move comes as city public health officials ramp up their vaccination efforts — including imposing a shots-or-test mandate on municipal employees — as they attempt to head off an outbreak of the super contagious Delta variant of the coronavirus.

Mayor Bill de Blasio again hinted Friday that the Health Department is considering requiring proof of vaccination for bars, night clubs and indoor eateries as another way to contain the spread of the Delta variant and provide another incentive for vaccination.

Hizzoner recently ordered the Big Apple’s 300,000-plus municipal workforce to either get their shots or face weekly COVID tests to boost the city’s vaccination campaign, which had begun to flag in recent weeks after reaching 71 percent of adults in the five boroughs.

Data from City Hall showed that the vaccination effort was badly lagging in key city agencies, with the Police Department, Department of Sanitation and Department of Corrections reporting fewer than 50 percent of their employees had received at least one shot.

De Blasio has also requested that private employers consider imposing similar requirements on their employees with workforces set to return to the office en masse in the fall.