The Government is trialling the return of large events such as live sports, alongside their COVID passport programme.
As we approach the next stages of restriction easing, the Government will seek to test out their COVID passport system through the return of some larger events.
According to the BBC, Nigel Huddleston, the Sports Minister, said the trial would be a “learning experience”. The early events would not require certification, but would test out other methods, such as one-way systems of travel and further hygiene methods.
At the end of May, a report will be given to the PM with all the necessary data on whether COVID passports were successful and whether these trialled events can continue.
Events taking place under the trial are “the FA Cup semi-final and final in London’s Wembley Stadium, the World Snooker Championship in Sheffield, a mass participation run at Hatfield House in Hertfordshire, and several events in Liverpool including an evening at a nightclub, a business conference and a cinema screening in the city”, according to the BBC.
Professor Iain Buchan, from the University of Liverpool, will help to run the trial and has stated that many of the events and requirements will be down to consent and effective social distancing, as he told BBC Breakfast.
The scheme is different from the vaccine passport system, which has come under fire as it would be discriminating against those of younger ages who have not yet been offered the vaccine. Instead, the new system involves proving that one does not have coronavirus by using a Government app, which registers a recently taken negative test.
According to YouGov, 70% of the UK supports vaccine passports. However, opposition in the Commons is strong, and Sir Keir Starmer has not yet committed to how Labour will vote, according to The Guardian. Instead, Starmer will wait until he sees the details of Johnson’s vaccine passport programme.
