Christopher BarrettVaccine minister Nadhim Zahawi has once again confirmed vaccine passports will be required to enter large venues in England from the end of this month, but the Government has failed to specify exactly what types and size of venues will be impacted by the move.
Speaking on the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show yesterday, 5 September, Zahawi said the Government wants to avoid an “open-shut-open-shut” situation for the events industry and that vaccinations are the best way to ensure venues stay open during the Winter.
In July, Zahawi said the NHS Covid passes that show whether someone has been vaccinated twice will be compulsory in order to gain entry to nightclubs and other crowded indoor venues such as music venues, “or large unstructured outdoor events such as business events and festivals, or very large structured events such as business events, music and spectator sport events”.
Asked by Access to provide details of exactly which venues and events would be impacted by the requirement, the Cabinet Office would only issue the following statement: “As the prime minister said, we reserve the right to do what is necessary to protect the public and reduce transmission of the virus, including mandating the NHS Covid Pass in certain settings.
“We are working closely with organisations that operate large, crowded settings, where people are likely to be in close proximity to others outside their household, to encourage the use of the NHS Covid Pass.”
Zahawi said on the Andrew Marr show that the evidence the move was necessary was clear-cut. His comments came after Scotland confirmed that it would require vaccine passports for entry to many large indoor and outdoor venues from this month. Wales is not expected to follow suit.
The Night Time Industries Association said the introduction of mandatory vaccine passports will have catastrophic impact on the industry.