Photographer: Chris J. Ratcliffe / Bloomberg
Photographer: Chris J. Ratcliffe / Bloomberg
Everyone in England will be urged to have a coronavirus test twice a week as a new Covid passport system is evaluated for large-scale use, according to Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s plan to reopen the economy after the closure.
Free trial kits will be available through local pharmacies, community centers and home delivery services, when the new scheme goes live on April 9th.
With the majority of the adult population receiving a vaccine, the government believes rapid testing of the entire population and a Covid state certification system will help maintain control of the pandemic as restrictions are eased.
Johnson will have to set out the details later Monday, ahead of the next step to erect curbs for businesses and citizens that will take place on April 12th.
“The British public has made great efforts to stop the spread of the virus,” Johnson said in a statement issued by his office. “As we continue to make good progress in our vaccination program and with our roadmap to cautiously ease ongoing restrictions, rapid and periodic testing is even more important to ensure that these efforts are not lost.”
The UK has suffered the highest number of deaths in Europe due to the pandemic and continues to bust the country’s deepest recession in 300 years.
A vaccination program that has quickly surpassed the rest of Europe has seen 31.5 million people receive at least one shot so far and puts the UK in a good position to reopen, even when nearby countries like France closes again.
According to Johnson’s plans:
- International travel can be resumed, potentially from May 17, with a new one A system of “traffic lights” that codes countries as red, amber or green, depending on their pandemic risks. Risk ratings will take into account a country’s vaccination program, infection rate, virus strains, and sequencing capacity.
- Arrivals in the UK from organic countries will not have to be isolated, but will have to be tested before departure and after arrival. Quarantine and isolation rules will apply to passengers entering the country from red and amber list places.
- Over the next few months, a Covid state certification system (often known as a Covid passport) will be developed, which could allow for the reopening of riskier venues, such as sporting events, nightclubs and theaters.
- Covid certificates, which could be based on paper or via a smartphone app, will be tested at mass events, including the best football matches and other sporting occasions in the coming weeks; Pubs, shops and restaurants will not have to use the certification to reopen
- A review of social distancing will take into account when families will be allowed to hug again and whether Covid’s passports could see the distancing guidelines lifted.
Many of the measures included in Johnson’s plan will have to pass votes in Parliament. Johnson is likely to face the struggling demands of some of his own Conservative Party colleagues to lift the blockade more quickly, while more than 70 members of Parliament have launched a campaign to oppose vaccine passports, citing concerns about erosion of freedoms.