Sigh of relief for venues
DELIGHT OVER GOVERNMENT’S VACCINE PASSPORT U-TURN
VENUES in Nottingham are “relieved and delighted” that vaccine passport plans have been scrapped.
Sajid Javid, Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, said the plans would not be implemented at the end of September as previously planned because the Government “shouldn’t be doing things for the sake of it”.
The move brought relief to an industry which thought the plans were “unworkable” and could cripple clubs and bars.
While the plans will be kept “in reserve” should they be needed over the autumn or winter, venue managers and owners are glad that measures will not need to be introduced in the coming weeks.
But, while venues welcomed the U-turn, some people remain cautious.
A spokesperson for Pryzm nightclub, on Lower Parliament Street, said: “We are relieved and delighted with this decision.
“After all this uncertainty, we can now focus on what we do best which is providing fun nights out and creating memories for young people who have already sacrificed so much during the pandemic in terms of their education and socialising in real life.
“We will continue to provide enhanced cleaning measures and our club offers the best ventilation, with clean air changes every five minutes.”
Under the scheme, people would have had to show proof of a double vaccination, a negative Covid test or finishing self-isolating after a positive PCR test to gain entry into clubs and other large events.
Maxine Zarfas, 49, a support and construction consultant from Bilborough, said: “I think people are getting a little bit blase. They think it’s all over and no more pandemic but that’s not the case – we still need to be vigilant and I would say to people to be really cautious at big events, especially if they’re indoors.
“I absolutely agreed with keeping the vaccine passports, though.
“Otherwise we could end up back in another lockdown and the economy is already struggling and we can’t afford to go back.
“I was really surprised when they did a reversal on it. I couldn’t believe that.
“I obviously get the business side of it because these club owners have been out of business for nearly two years.”
DHP – which runs Stealth, Rock City, Rescue Rooms, and The Bodega – also welcomed the news.
A spokesperson said: “We welcome the Government’s decision to scrap the need for vaccine passports as there are a host of potential issues that the introduction of these could have caused for the night-time industries, particularly around deliverability, practicality, equality and potential discrimination.
“With that being said, it’s still paramount that we do our part to keep customers safe whilst visiting our venue.
“We urge people to continue to test at home before they come out and to not attend events if they are suffering any symptoms.
“We will also be keeping up our stricter cleaning regimes and hand sanitiser will be around for the foreseeable future.
“Since reopening we have been overwhelmed with demand for events and hopefully this continues as people feel safer heading back out again.”
Another resident, Georgina Price, 19, from Cambridge, a business management student at Nottingham Trent University, added: “I think if they had the vaccine passport more people would likely get vaccinated because then if they are university students they can’t go out without the vaccine and it would probably mean now that fewer people will get the vaccine.
“I think people will think it’s less important because obviously if it’s not a definite that you have to get the passport so I don’t think as many people will get it.”
Further new announcements are expected this week as Boris Johnson is set to repeal emergency lockdown laws under his Covid Winter Plan – relying on booster vaccines that could start in two weeks. The Joint Committee on Vaccinations and Immunisation is expected to give the go-ahead for the most vulnerable to have a third jab.
Callum Newton, 21, a Sheffield Hallam University student who lives in Basford, said: “They probably had a lot of backlash from the plans because you can’t really force anyone to take the vaccine.
“It obviously would be better if everyone did have the vaccine but a lot of people are against it.
“You can’t really force people to take their rights to go out.”
Speaking about the U-turn on The Andrew Marr Show, Mr Javid said: “We just shouldn’t be doing things for the sake of it or because others are doing, and we should look at every possible intervention properly.
“We’ve looked at it properly and, whilst we should keep it in reserve as a potential option, I’m pleased to say that we will not be going ahead with plans for vaccine passports.”
On the same show just a week before, Vaccines Minister Nadhim Zahawi said the end of September was the right time to introduce vaccine passports because all over-18s would have been offered two jabs by then and it was the “best way” to keep the night industry open.