PLANS FOR COVID ‘PASSPORT’ APP ON YOUR MOBILE
Virtual certificate would allow entry to pubs and restaurants
A MOBILE phone app could be used to give people a virtual ‘coronavirus certificate’ so they can gain entry to pubs, clubs and restaurants, the Mail can reveal. Under the UK Government plans, drinkers would use their phone to prove they had been vaccinated or had a recent negative test or antibody test to prove immunity.
The certificate would probably feature a scannable QR code.
But for those relying on a negative test, these certificates could be valid for as little as 24 hours – with people required to have two lateral flow tests three days apart before getting one.
officials are looking to modify an existing nHS app that gives patients access to parts of their medical records to facilitate the so-called ‘Covid passports’ scheme.
As an incentive for asking customers to prove their Covid-free status, the venues taking part would be allowed to drop all rules on social distancing.
The plans are being examined by Cabinet office Minister Michael Gove as part of a major Government review into how
Covid certificates could be used to reopen the economy as soon as possible.
Boris Johnson promised yesterday to set out further details in the next three weeks, saying: ‘I do think there is going to be a role for certification.’
But there was an angry backlash last night, with hospitality bosses branding the idea ‘unworkable, costly and discriminatory’.
Many were left furious by the idea of an additional administrative burden at a time when so many in the sector are struggling to survive. Tory backbenchers also raised privacy concerns, saying that they were ‘horrified’ by the plans.
On Wednesday night the Prime Minister confirmed ministers were looking at the idea and suggested that pub landlords may be allowed to deny entry to any drinkers who could not prove they had been vaccinated.
Yesterday, the first details emerged about how such a scheme might operate. The Mail understands that after downloading the app, people would be able to access their Covid vaccination status or results of virus tests or antibody tests showing immunity for those who have already had coronavirus.
For those eligible, the app would generate a digital certificate that could be presented at venues.
This would likely include a QR code that staff could scan to verify it was genuine, along with a picture of the person’s face. People without the app would be able to request a paper certificate.
The Government is yet to decide details, such as how often someone who has not had the vaccine would need tested before getting a Covid certificate.
Under one option, a negative test result would be valid for as little as 24 hours, meaning daily testing for those who wanted to go out regularly.
Ministers are also thinking about issues such as whether people would need to be supervised when using lateral flow tests, so they cannot lie about the result. It was claimed last night that two negative lateral flow tests in three days may be required to get a certificate.
As well as being used by hospitality venues such as pubs and restaurants, the certificates could be required to attend large gatherings such as sports matches.
The Prime Minister yesterday insisted that ‘no decisions have been taken at all’ – and suggested such a scheme may not be rolled out until every adult has been offered at least one jab.
But his spokesman refused to rule out the possibility that the certificates could be mandatory.
Steve Baker, deputy chairman of the 70-strong Covid Recovery Group of Tory MPs, said yesterday he was ‘horrified’ by the proposals.
He told BBC Radio’s The World At One: ‘If the Prime Minister was on the back benches, I’m very, very sure that he would be one of our leading voices against just the kind of policies that he’s now bringing forward.’
Tory former minister Dr Liam Fox said: ‘Were the Government to try to compel individuals to carry some proof of either immunity through vaccine or a negative test, I think that would be completely unacceptable in a country where civil liberties are held so highly and so prized.’
The Scottish Government was asked about Covid passports but a spokesman was unable to comment because of purdah restrictions ahead of the Holyrood election in May.
But earlier this month, during a discussion at Holyrood, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said there were practical issues for people who could not get vaccinated for health reasons, but added that ‘we should not close our minds’ totally to vaccine passports.
She had said: ‘Yellow fever certificates exist for travel to some countries, and there may well be scope for vaccination giving people the ability to do certain things that, without vaccination, they might not be able to do. ‘Suffice it to say that, yes, we should think properly, without closing our minds at this stage, about what a vaccine passport or certificate might offer us, but I would never support something that deepened social inequalities, put barriers in the way of people accessing public services or took away people’s civil liberties.’