Coronavirus positivity rates are climbing due to the delta variant, leading Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Monday to encourage business owners to limit customers.

“Bars, restaurants, go to vaccine-only admission,” the governor said during a Monday press briefing. “I believe it’s in your best business interest.”

It’s a step backwards that business leaders don’t want to take.

“That’s just not going to work,” said Saratoga County Chamber of Commerce President Todd Shimkus. He said a number of employers struggled to enforce the mask mandate last year.

“I think if we get into identifying people who have or do not have a vaccine, we’re creating more of a conflict for those workers and employees,” Shimkus said.

With track season and summer tourism in full swing, a good portion of patrons right now are from out of town and wouldn’t appear in the state’s Excelsior program.

“Which means employers would have to set up another way to do that,” Shimkus said. “But we also have a significant labor shortage. And I don’t see small businesses, in particular, being able to take people off the frontlines, where they are serving people, to check vaccination cards.”

Right now, it’s only advice from the governor, who is also encouraging local governments to take a hard stance on mask-wearing.

“Learn the lesson from last year. Don’t deny reality. Better safe than sorry,” he said. “People are going to be upset no matter what you do. Show leadership and save lives.”

Spectrum News 1 reached out to county executives around the Capital Region on Monday. None agreed to an on-camera interview, but released statements.

“We are following CDC guidance, which recommends that those in counties with substantial or high rates of community transmission have, all individuals, vaccinated or not, mask indoors," Albany County Executive Dan McCoy said. "If the situation changes, we will respond accordingly."

“We are keeping a close eye on the situation, along with communicating with our partners in neighboring counties…residents should continue to use common sense, and be aware of CDC recommendations in the coming days," Rensselaer County Director of Operations Richard Crist said.

Shimkus says we should focus on what’s been done as we search for a positive solution.

“We’re at just about at 80% of everybody that is eligible in Saratoga has gotten vaccinated,” he said. “If we want to keep people safe in the short-term and long-term, everyone needs to get vaccinated."

Saratoga County has planned four pop-up vaccine clinics this week.