Secretary of State Oliver Dowden this morning on Sky News told Vanessa Baffoe, the government’s aim in easing lockdown restrictions is to “get as many people back as we possibly can to the things we really love as a nation”.
When questioned on how that would be achieved Dowden referred to Covid certificates, which he then became wary of clarifying. Much of the interview focused on enabling large sporting events to go ahead in the summer, with Covid certification referenced throughout.
The Prime Minister speaking to Sky News last month said he would launch a review into the possibility of rolling out domestic vaccine passports.
Dowden this morning explained that Michael Gove, Minister for the Cabinet Office was now responsible for vaccine certification, ‘ask him’ being the obvious but unspoken inference.
While visiting a vaccination centre in Glasgow on Monday Mr Gove said: “This review into Covid-status certification is an important part of our plan to help reopen the country and return to normal.
“However, we recognise that there are complex issues of ethics, privacy and inclusion that need to be fully considered.
“That is why I want to get as many views as possible on Covid-status certification and its potential implications to help inform the review.”
The government’s roadmap set out key dates for the reopening of hospitality, the first of which is 29 March. The opinions Gove is seeking in relation to Covid certificates ends on the same day.
The government set out Covid-19 status certification as: “the use of testing or vaccination data to confirm in different settings that individuals have a lower risk of getting sick with or transmitting Covid-19 to others.”
The reopening of hospitality will be demanding in all too many ways. If there is to be a vaccine certification programme post review, sufficient time and funding will need to be provided to support its implementation.
Also, in light of the track and trace data debacle, where government did not use the data acquired from hospitality venues, some sort of assurance will also be needed on the use of the data, as well as the objectives and benefits to businesses.
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Hospitality & Catering News: Hospitality Passport. – 19 March 2021 – Hospitality Passport.
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