Yelp released a new safety measure to help businesses share COVID-19 vaccine requirements for their customers and staff.
The new feature, which is the latest addition to the platform's COVID-19 safety section, will allow businesses in the restaurant, food, and nightlife industries to specify if proof of vaccination is required for customers and whether or not all employees are fully vaccinated, according to a statement released by Yelp on Thursday.
Here’s how we’re helping, and protecting, businesses as they communicate health and safety measures: https://t.co/QRfYKVbqXqpic.twitter.com/NWxFvBbQNy
— Yelp (@Yelp) August 5, 2021
The move comes at a time when some businesses and cities are requiring proof of vaccination for customers and employees participating in indoor activities as the Delta variant of the coronavirus continues to surge.
Yelp will monitor business pages that choose to display vaccination requirements in case of any "backlash" for their policies, Noorie Malik, Yelp's vice president of user operations, said in an announcement of the new feature.
Yelp has updated its COVID-19 Content Guidelines to bar reviewers from leaving negative reviews for businesses based on their opinion of vaccinations and to prevent "review bombing" of a business that receives public attention for its COVID policies, Yelp said. According to these guidelines, Yelp's users must leave reviews based on their experience and not their opinions.
In order to prevent review bombing, Yelp plans to closely monitor the businesses that use the feature for harmful content that goes against the company's guidelines.