Covid-19 passport pilots proposed by the UK government as a way out of closure

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When the country reopens, ministers hope the “covidi state certification” system will allow vaccinated people, who have had a recent negative test or a positive test within six months, to return to theaters , football matches, cinemas and other events.

Several countries consider some form of Covid-19 status check to be a viable way to facilitate attendance at events or board flights quickly and easily, but critics are concerned that passports undermine fundamental freedoms and risk discrimination.
The UK pilot, which Prime Minister Boris Johnson will discuss in detail on Monday, will test the effectiveness and transmission risks of the government’s reopening plan and will start on 16 April at Liverpool’s Hot Water Comedy Club. Other events and venues listed in April include the World Billiards Championship at Sheffield’s Crucible Theater, the FA Cup semi-final at Wembley Stadium in London and the Luna Cinema in Liverpool.

“We have made great strides in recent months with our vaccine program and everyone in the country has made enormous sacrifices to reach this stage of our recovery from covid-19,” Johnson said in a statement Saturday. “We are doing everything we can to allow our country to reopen so that people can return to the events, trips and other things they love in the safest way possible, and these reviews will play an important role in making that happen.”

The National Health Service is developing paper and digital methods for citizens to demonstrate their Covid-19 status. The government stressed that passports will not be required to travel by public transport or enter essential shops.
This week, more than 70 MPs joined civil liberties groups, such as Big Brother Watch, to launch a campaign against the proposed use of documents that would allow access to certain national sites. Senior politicians such as former Labor Party leader Jeremy Corbyn and Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey signed a statement saying vaccine passports are “divisive and discriminatory”.

Davey described passports as “illiberal and unviable” in a tweet Friday.

“We are working with clinical and ethical experts to ensure adequate exemptions for people for whom vaccination is not recommended and repeated testing would be difficult,” the government said in a statement on Saturday.

A tourism minister said Sunday that certification was “one of the tools” the government is looking at to “help us get back to the things we love.”

“We are very aware and very aware of the ethical considerations surrounding vaccination certification,” Nigel Huddleston told CNN affiliate ITN. “The key purpose of looking at this option is to see how it can allow us to open up, get back to the things we want to do before … A lot of companies tell me that opening up is one thing, but what we really need to do is be able to open up profitable and as long as there is social distance, this causes us real challenges to be able to reopen as viable companies “.

International travel from the United Kingdom is still banned until May 17, but after that date the government will implement a system of “traffic lights”. Travelers arriving from “green” countries will not have to isolate themselves, while those from “red” or “amber” will continue to be restricted to the mandatory quarantine policies currently in place.

The American Civil Liberties Union said this week that plans to deploy a standardized vaccine passport must take into account social inequalities and privacy rights and anything but a “start.” Several technology organizations and companies have already begun developing applications for smartphones and other digital systems to store and verify vaccination information.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Friday signed an executive order banning the use of Covid-19 passports in the state. The order prohibits any government entity from issuing vaccine passports and prevents companies from requiring such documentation.

Robert Iddiols, Kelly Murray, Gregory Lemos and Alaa Elassar contributed to this report.

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