Sarah Palin was spotted dining at a New York restaurant on Wednesday (January 26) after it was revealed she had tested positive for COVID-19 just two days earlier. The 57-year-old former Alaska governor, who is not vaccinated against the coronavirus, ate outdoors with a group of friends at the Italian hot spot Elio’s, making it her second visit to the establishment since Saturday, when she dined indoors without presenting a vaccination card. On Tuesday, she also dined at another eatery called Campagnola, per the Daily Mail. With the two most recent outings, the failed VP candidate appeared to be flouting local health and safety measures, which call for positive coronavirus cases to isolate for at least five days.
“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 said in a statement. “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.”
Sarah placed Elio’s in jeopardy of a fine for dining indoors on Saturday, and the restaurant took ownership of its mistake for letting her inside. “Sarah didn’t present the vaccination card on Saturday night and she shouldn’t have been able to sit down,” a rep for Elio’s EXCLUSIVELY told HollywoodLife. “She showed up to apologize [on Wednesday, after her positive test] and was not allowed to come inside. Some outlets are reporting that she was in the restaurant [on Wednesday], but she did not step foot in here, I want that to be clear. It was a mistake that she was dining, and we take full responsibility for that.”
“We are super vigilant at this point,” the rep continued. “Sarah coming to apologized caused a huge issue for us as well and made things worse. After we made the mistake, we contacted customers and tested staff we took responsibility for making the mistake.” The rep said they are following all mandates and are not taking the situation lightly. “People are saying we don’t check regulars that is not true. We do track repeat visitors and have a list of who is vaccinated. Many restaurants do this and we are allowed to do it. Some are saying we just let famous people do what they want and that is simply not true.”
Palin is in Manhattan for her defamation trial against The New York Times, which has now been delayed until February 3 after the judge revealed on Monday that Palin tested positive for the virus. “She is, of course, unvaccinated,” U.S. District Court Judge Jed S. Rakoff told his Manhattan courtroom, per reports. Palin is accusing the outlet of libeling her in a 2017 editorial linking an ad from her political action committee to a 2011 mass shooting in Arizona that killed six people and wounded 12 others, including U.S. Representative Gabby Giffords.
The former politician also tested positive for COVID-19 in March 2021. At a Turning Point USA rally in December, Palin told the crowd that she would only get vaccinated against Covid “over my dead body.” “I won’t do it and they better not touch my kids either,” she added.