‘Euros and Wimbledon are priority’
COVID tests could be sent out with tickets to help get fans back into the British summer’s biggest sporting events.
Proposals aim to save sport’s “crown jewels” – including the Euros at Wembley and Wimbledon tennis – by ensuring spectators get themselves tested before showing up. Rapid onsite testing at the gate and temperature checks are also being considered.
A Whitehall source said there was a “huge push to get stadiums and sports open” but cautioned that it is still “very early days”. “Nobody in government is making any promises about this,” the source added.
The road map for exiting lockdown is due on February 22, with schools
expected to reopen from March 8. Adults are set to be allowed to sit down outdoors on a park bench with one friend or members of their own family.
At the end of March, two people from different households are expected to be allowed to play golf and tennis.
The opening of non-essential shops is set for early April and al fresco dining at pubs and restaurants is likely to follow in early May.
Meanwhile, David Armstrong, chief executive of the Racecourse Association, said racing was also “looking at passport solutions” to help crowds return safely.
He said: “It will be some time before the integration to vaccine information will be available.”