Holiday passport is on! EU is ready to agree to issuing digital pass that will allow Britons to travel to resorts if they have been vaccinated or have Covid antibodies… as tech firm asks to trial similar scheme for our pubs
- Bloc publishes details of ‘digital green pass’, piling pressure on Grant Shapps
- Those from non-EU countries can travel to bloc if they can ‘present certificates’
- It comes as tech firm reveals vaccine passports could be piloted in English pubs
The EU will confirm today that British holidaymakers are to be welcomed on the Continent as it unveils its ‘vaccine passport’ scheme.
Piling pressure on transport secretary Grant Shapps to green-light foreign travel in time for summer, the bloc is publishing details of its ‘digital green pass’.
It comes as a tech firm revealed that vaccine passports could soon be piloted in English pubs to see if they could speed up the lifting of social restrictions.
The EU will confirm today that British holidaymakers are to be welcomed on the Continent as it unveils its ‘vaccine passport’ scheme
Piling pressure on transport secretary Grant Shapps to green-light foreign travel in time for summer, the bloc is publishing details of its ‘digital green pass’
The EU’s passport will allow those from non-EU countries to travel to the bloc if they are ‘in a position to present certificates under a system deemed sufficiently reliable’, according to a leaked document obtained by Bloomberg.
Dates are not specified but the document states the digital pass will also allow travel for those who have tested negative or who can prove they have gained a level of immunity having recovered from Covid.
Infections in the UK will also need to remain low for Britons to be allowed to travel to the EU.
However, in another boost, the document acknowledges that individual countries will be able to strike deals with Britain should the EU-wide scheme falter, mirroring last year’s ‘travel corridors’.
Greece, Portugal, Spain and Cyprus have signalled they are ready to arrange bilateral deals to welcome vaccinated Britons or those who test negative from mid-May.
Mr Shapps is leading a global travel taskforce that is looking into the use of vaccine passports for safely re-opening travel.
Hit taskforce will report by April 12, the date when an announcement will be made on when travel can re-open, with May 17 being the earliest possible date.
Meanwhile, a tech company is understood to be in talks with the Government to carry out trials for vaccine passports in pubs in Chester.
The EU’s passport will allow those from non-EU countries to travel to the bloc if they are ‘in a position to present certificates under a system deemed sufficiently reliable’, according to a leaked document obtained by Bloomberg
Customers would need to show an app to prove they had been vaccinated or had received a negative test. The app also uses a photo of the customer’s face
Customers would need to show an app to prove they had been vaccinated or had received a negative test. The app also uses a photo of the customer’s face.
The firm, Match Fit Pass, said it is waiting for the green light for its trials. Boris Johnson’s roadmap allows outdoor visitors to pubs from April 12 and indoor visitors from May 17.
It is hoped that the technology, which would be trialled between these two dates, will reduce the need for social distancing measures indoors. Football clubs and music venues are also interested, the company said.
Michael Dodd, chief executive of Match Fit Pass, said: ‘We’ve already got six venues in Chester lined up and eager to beta test the Match Fit Pass solution.
‘We’re just waiting on the green light from local authorities and the Government and then we can start to roll this out nationally and internationally.’
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