Ministers are said to have scrapped the proposal of imposing a COVID passport at music festivals, sporting events and other mass gatherings following the lifting of all social restrictions on 19 July.
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No government-imposed certification required
After the same plan was rejected for pubs and restaurants following a fierce uproar from both MPs and the service industry, mass events will be following suit. However, organisers will still be able to run their own schemes to make sure those in attendance do not pose a health risk that could cause further outbreaks.
The decision has come about as Boris Johnson restored faith in the idea of not pushing back freedom day any further. In a statement made to the Cabinet yesterday, the PM confirmed that the success of the UK's vaccination program means that Brits are now ready to live with COVID.
Covid to remain in circulation
He also suggested that COVID will remain within society and that we must all learn to cope with the inevitable spikes in cases that are to come in the future. A Downing Street spokesman said:
Cabinet agreed that once we have completed the road map, we will be able to live with Covid in the future – even if cases continue to rise – thanks to the protections provided by the vaccine.
And another government source confirmed that despite the growing number of cases—up by 70% in the last seven days—plans to lift all restrictions by next month will go ahead as planned:
We need to get used to the idea of treating Covid more like flu. People have the flu vaccine, which helps reduce serious illness, but we still get large numbers of cases and significant numbers of deaths.
And added:
When we get to July 19, cases look like they will be potentially very high, perhaps as many as 30,000 or 40,000 per day. But that is not in itself a reason not to go ahead, provided hospitalisations and deaths remain at relatively low levels.
