PASSPORTS PANDEMONIUM
Line up now... and have your Queue-R code ready!
Vaccine checks scheme ‘not f it for purpose’ as chaos reigns
SCOTLAND’S botched vaccine passport scheme was last night branded ‘not fit for purpose’ after days of chaos at venues across the country.
Football fans and pub and club goers faced huge queues as the Scottish Government’s vital mobile phone application continued to suffer technical glitches, which first emerged shortly after it launched three days ago.
Ministers have warned it could be tomorrow at the earliest before a ‘fix’, currently being tested, is finally up and running to allow people to register for the controversial scheme, and obtain proof of their double-jabbed status, which is required for access to large events and venues.
It emerged yesterday the Scottish Government turned down an offer to join the vaccine passport app used in England and Wales before opting to set up its own alternative.
A grace period means venues will not be liable for enforcement action before October 18 to allow the system – which was due to go live at 5am on Friday – to settle. But last night, angry
‘The disastrous launch proved our warnings were well founded’
nightclub and pub bosses, who made an unsuccessful court bid last week to stop the legislation going ahead, said their warnings the scheme was ‘not fit for purpose’ had been proved right.
A spokesman for the Night Time Industries Association said: ‘The disastrous launch of this flawed scheme has proved our warnings were well-founded. Venues all over Scotland reported high levels of customer frustration. Increasing numbers are losing trust in the Government’s ability to competently administer this scheme and safeguard personal medical details.
‘Confusion reigns over the delay in enforcement, while, as predicted, there are huge operational issues as operators try to comply with this nonsensical and discriminatory policy with their hands effectively tied behind their backs.’
Premiership football games over the weekend at Tynecastle, Pittodrie and Ibrox were set to be the first where only fully vaccinated supporters could gain entry, along with exempt groups, including under-18s.
But ahead of yesterday’s match between Hearts and Motherwell, the Edinburgh club announced it would not enforce the new arrangements and all supporters would be admitted, whether they had proof of vaccination or not. Stewards did spotcheck one in four fans with cursory glances given to paperwork. At one checkpoint, stewards had to stop checking 15 minutes before kick-off with a long queue of people still waiting to get in.
One steward said most supporters had some form of proof, but a few had insisted they would not be taking part, which could cause problems when passports are strictly enforced.
Aberdeen also abandoned its plans for a trial run at Pittodrie for its game today with Celtic, as did Rangers for this afternoon’s match against Hibernian.
As of last night, the Scottish Government said more than 167,600 people had managed to verify their identity through the app. But a spokesman said ‘urgent work’ was under way to resolve the ‘teething issues’ which were ‘primarily down to the volume of requests’.
He added: ‘We expect the problems, and the associated backlog, to be cleared within the next couple of days. A further fix has been identified and is being tested.
‘It is important to remember the app isn’t the only means of providing proof. People can also present evidence of their vaccine status via the downloadable PDF or a paper copy accessible from NHS Inform – well over three quarters of a million have already been issued.’
Asked about their reasons for declining to join the app being used in England and Wales, the spokesman said the decision had been taken after being informed that it would take ‘at least 12 months’ to be able to get access to the NHS log-in required for the app in England.
Scotland’s app was developed by Danish IT firm Netcompany, appointed in June by NHS National Services Scotland with a contract worth up to £600,000.
On Friday, Scottish Health Secretary Humza Yousaf announced that people should still be admitted to nightclubs and football stadiums without the certification as part of
the ‘bedding in’ delay. In Glasgow city centre on Friday night, clubbers in long queues gave the new vaccine app a mixed response.
Student Megan Simpson, 20, from Renfrew, said she tried a few times to download it before giving up.
She added: ‘I disagree with it because it’s still someone’s choice. There’s not a clear message.’
Cameron Ramsay, 18, also a student, said he was opposed to the app and it was a ‘rule put in place to stop young people going out’.
He added: ‘With places other than Scotland, I don’t understand why they have less strict rules but a much better Covid rate.’
Sophie Conner, 18, a student from the Dundee area, said she had managed to download the app but added: ‘It wouldn’t work to let me put in my details.’
Yesterday, football fans outside Tynecastle branded the vaccine passports at matches ‘unnecessary’. Some said mandatory mask wearing would be more effective.
Lee Duncan, 18, from Dalkeith, Midlothian, said: ‘I think getting vaccinated is the right thing to do but don’t think I should need a passport to see my team. I feel forced into it.’
Simon Lyle, 33, from Penicuik, Midlothian, said: ‘I think it should be enough to show a negative test. I’d been trying to get the app since it came out and hadn’t managed to get it to work – I finally managed in the car on the way here.
‘This isn’t going to make me feel safer.’ DANCE DELAY: Students Sophie Conner and Niamh
Henderson in queue for club