PLANS to force customers to show vaccine passports to be allowed to enter a pub or restaurant have been ditched. Proof of a Covid jab or test will, however, still be required for festivals and sports events, according to reports. The Sun has the story.
It says the Prime Minister’s change of heart came after a backlash from 73 MPs who branded the idea ‘divisive and discriminatory’.
Trials of vaccine passports are still going ahead as planned – the debate over their use is far from over yet, despite the good news on pubs.
The Sun says: ‘NHS chiefs are developing a new app members of the public will have to show to gain access to sports stadiums, theatres, festivals and nightclubs.
‘Those without a smartphone will get a paper certificate.
‘The system will be trialled at nine pilot events over the next few weeks, where experts will also explore how high-tech ventilation and Covid tests on entry are working.
‘Mr Johnson will study the feedback to help decide how to manage other large-scale gatherings as restrictions are lifted.’
Clearly, the idea of domestic Covid passports is not dead. As Fraser Nelson said in the Spectator: ‘In theory, the Government is taking soundings. In practice, those involved in Michael Gove’s review have been told that the decision has already been made by the PM: so they’re happening.’ While the Government may not force pubs and restaurants to restrict entrance to those with vaccine passports, it will likewise not stop businesses from imposing such limits themselves, as Michael Gove has suggested in an article for the Sunday Telegraph.
‘At the moment, businesses could set up their own private certification schemes and use them to restrict access. Nightclubs and other venues already police entry. Some may well want to embrace any tool available to signal to visitors they are at low risk of infection.’
Stop Press: The Mirror reports that, while pubs, cafes and restaurants will be allowed to reopen in full without vaccine passports on May 17th, they may be forced to introduce them at some point in the future.
Stop Press 2: This image from the Sun shows where vaccine passports will be required at first.
This article first appeared in Lockdown Sceptics on April 4, 2021, and is republished by kind permission. https://lockdownsceptics.org/todays-update/
