New vaccine passport rule under attack
Nightclub owner says move ‘unfair’ and will have a ‘massive impact’
NIGHTCLUBS and venues with large crowds will require attendees to have vaccine passports showing they have been double jabbed from the end of September – with one Portsmouth club owner calling it ‘age discrimination’.
Currently nightclubs and other crowded venues are only encouraged to ask clubbers to show proof of vaccination, a negative test result, or immunity.
But the prime minister Boris Johnson said he was concerned by the continuing risk of transmission.
The announcement comes as nightclubs in England are allowed to reopen after being closed for almost a year and a half.
The prime minister told a press conference: ‘I don't want to have to close nightclubs again as they have elsewhere. But it does mean nightclubs need to do the socially responsible thing.
‘As we said last week, we do reserve the right to mandate certification at any point if it's necessary to reduce transmission.
‘And I should serve notice now that by the end of September, when all over 18s have had their chance to be double jabbed we're planning to make full vaccination the condition of entry to nightclubs and other venues where large crowds gather.’
The Astoria nightclub in Portsmouth’s city centre threw open its doors to packed crowds of mask-less revellers at 12.01am on Monday morning as Covid-19 restrictions were lifted.
Now the club’s owner, Alistair Ritchie, says the latest announcement is ‘unfair on clubs and unfair on society’.
He said: ‘It will have a massive impact.
‘If so many of your friends don’t have a vaccine passport, you just won’t go out.
‘And how will bars stop themselves from turning into nightclubs? If you go into a bar with music playing, are you allowed to dance?
‘It is so frustrating. It feels like there’s a constant flurry of obstacles over the last year, it’s been one flaming hoop to jump through after another.’
With an eight week wait between jabs and then a two week wait for vaccine passports, it means anyone turning 18 after the scheme is introduced will not be able to go clubbing on their birthday – unless the government allows under-18s to get jabbed.
Latest figures show 35 per cent of 18 to 30 year olds in England have not had their first jab.
In Portsmouth, 58 per cent of 18 to 24 year olds have had one dose, while 56 per cent of 25 to 29 year olds have had one jab. The Astoria’s neighbour, Mr Miyagi's bar, will be hosting a NHS vaccination walk-in hub every Thursday starting this week, open from 12pm to 6pm.