NYC Mayor's Office Issues Shady Warning After Palin Dined out in NYC Following Positive Test

In March of 2020, Republican former Vice Presidential nominee Sarah Palin was unmasked as the Bear on FOX's The Masked Singer. Upon her elimination, Palin gave an unconventional rendition of "Baby Got Back" by Sir Mix-a-lot. That same night, news broke that Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson tested positive for COVID-19—among the first prominent Americans to receive such results—and were quarantining in Australia.

Nearly two years later, the United States is still battling COVID-19 and Sarah Palin is still making headlines.

New York City, for a libel trial against the New York Times. Though the trial was set to begin this past Monday, Palin tested positive for COVID-19. Just days before, Palin—who is unvaccinated—dined indoors at Elio's on the Upper East Side, somehow bypassing the city's vaccine requirement. In light of the positive results, U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff delayed the trial until February 3rd.

But a positive COVID test hasn't stopped Palin from continuing the town red, as she was spotted dining at Elio's once again (this time outside) and, according to the blog UpperEastSite, was also seen dining at Campagnola the night before.

Shawn McCreesh, who originally spotted Palin at Elio's last Saturday, shared video of her dining there again on Wednesday, only two days after testing positive.

While unvaccinated patrons are permitted to eat in outdoor dining spaces in New York, it's unclear what gave Palin the impression that it's acceptable to continue endangering service workers and her own acquaintances by dining so soon after a positive test. Is the Italian at Elio's really that good?

What's also unclear is when, or if, Palin ever tested negative following the positive test.

Jonah Allon—the spokesman for the city's recently inaugurated Democratic mayor, Eric Adams—lambasted Palin's recklessness in a statement, saying:

"We encourage any New Yorker who came into contact with Sarah Palin to get tested, just as we encourage all New Yorkers to get tested regularly, especially those who believe they may have been exposed to COVID-19."

He continued:

“By repeatedly flouting CDC guidelines, Ms. Palin has shown a complete disregard for the health and safety of small business workers and her fellow patrons. The city offers multiple resources to support isolation for those who test positive for COVID-19, and we encourage Ms. Palin to join the 98 percent of New Yorkers who report they have followed guidance on isolation and have helped New York City stop the spread.”

He's continued to lament Palin's behavior on Twitter.

People joined Allon in shaming Palin's flagrant endangerment of small business workers.

Some also found the first sentence of Allon's statement unintentionally funny.

Palin has said she'll only get vaccinated "over [her] dead body."