UK plans trial of mass gatherings
THE government is to begin trials to enable the safe return of crowds to mass gatherings including Wembley football cup finals and indoor events such as comedy clubs as it prepares to launch its so-called “vaccine passport”.
People attending a range of sporting events, conferences and clubs will be tested both before and after in the next step towards the easing of restrictions in England.
Ministers said the scheme, which will include the FA Cup final at Wembley, will be used to gather scientific evidence on how venues can reopen without the need for social distancing.
However, the move is likely to prove controversial, with many MPs deeply concerned about the implications for civil liberties of requiring people to prove whether they are clear of the disease in order to attend certain events.
More than 40 Tories have signed a letter publicly opposing the use of vaccine passports in a campaign which has brought together ex-Conservative and Labour leaders Sir Iain Duncan Smith and Jeremy Corbyn.
Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove,
who has led the task force responsible for drawing up the plans, acknowledged it raised “a host of practical and ethical questions” which needed to be resolved before there could be any wider rollout.
However, he said that it was essential that the government took the lead, otherwise venues and other businesses would simply begin setting up their own certification schemes.
“These questions aren’t easy to resolve but I don’t think we can duck them,” he said in an article for The Sunday Telegraph. “Unless the government takes a lead we risk others establishing the rules of the road.”
The first trial is due to take place on April 16 at the Hot Water Comedy Club in Liverpool with an audience of 300 to be followed two days later by the FA Cup semi-final at Wembley with a crowd of 4,000.
Other events where the scheme is to be tested include the World Snooker Championship at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, running from April 17 to May 3, and a mass participation run at Hatfield House on April 24 and 25.
The pilots will culminate with the FA Cup final on May 15, again at Wembley but this time with a crowd of 21,000.
People attending the trials will have to adhere to an agreed code of behaviour when they purchase a ticket and to take a Covid test both before and after the event.
They will be required to follow existing government guidance, including wearing face coverings, and to provide contact details of everyone in their group for NHS Test and Trace.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock said: “By piloting a range of measures to reduce transmission, we can gather vital scientific evidence to inform our plans for allowing events in the future.”