Pub landlords may be able to demand proof of a Covid vaccine from punters,
Boris Johnson has suggested.
The prime minister said it may be left “up to individual publicans” whether they ask customers for proof they have had a jab before entrance.
The roadmap out of lockdown says that beer gardens and outdoor service areas will not reopen before April 12.
Pubs will be able to reopen more fully in a later stage of the plan, but not before May 17 and only provided they follow social distancing guideline in place at the time.
Now, speaking to MPs on the Commons’ liaison committee, the prime minister has suggested vaccine passports could play a role in the reopening of hospitality.
Asked if such a Covid certificate could be required for pubs, Johnson said: “I think that that’s the kind of thing – it may be up to individual publicans, it may be up to the landlord.”
Hospitality leaders have stressed repeatedly that Covid curbs have been tough for the sector, with thousands of jobs lost and pubs closed.
Johnson is under pressure not to stick to the dates in his unlock plan. Some of his Tory backbenchers believe, with case numbers and deaths falling, that ministers should reopen parts of the
economy sooner. Amid reports that the virus is resurgent on mainland Europe, Johnson also indicated tougher curbs could be placed on movement from
France due to concerns about importing new variants.
Under questioning from home affairs committee chairwoman Yvette Cooper, Mr Johnson said there were currently exemptions for hauliers “the people involved in bringing in, for instance, medicines or food to the UK” and then quickly return to France.
“There is an issue about whether we decide to apply more stringent measures to them, with the delays that that would entail and the knock-on effects that would entail.
“We are certainly looking at that but people should be under no illusions that it would have consequences.”Related...France Could Be Added To 'Red List', Reveals Boris JohnsonQuarantine For
UK Holidaymakers 'Should Carry On After Lockdown'This Is Where You (Probably) Will And Won't Need A Vaccine Passport