The British government wants to introduce a health pass in September proving a complete vaccination against the coronavirus to access establishments welcoming a large public, such as nightclubs, Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced on Monday (July 19).
Read also: United Kingdom: the situation remains undecided despite the high vaccination coverage
“
By the end of September, when all young people over the age of 18 have had the opportunity to be doubly vaccinated, we plan to make full vaccination a condition of entry into nightclubs and other places welcoming a lot of people,
”declared the head of the Conservative government. A negative test will then no longer be sufficient, he said.
On the first day of lifting most of the latest restrictions in England, as the Delta variant skyrockets contaminations, Boris Johnson repeated his call for caution.
If necessary, the government will make it mandatory to show proof of vaccination, negative test or natural immunity to access the nightclubs, which were able to reopen after a year and a half of closure.
50,000 new cases daily
Holding a press conference remotely from his country residence in Checkers, where he has to self-isolate because he was contacted after his Minister of Health tested positive, Boris Johnson admitted he could not "
guarantee
»The«
irreversible
»nature of the lifting of the restrictions. “
We must be humble in the face of nature,
” he said. As hundreds of thousands of contact cases are forced into self-isolation, some essential workers such as railway workers or air traffic controllers will be granted an exemption allowing them to work, provided they have received their second dose in at least two years. weeks, the government said.
Read also: Lifting of health restrictions: the main measures put in place in the United Kingdom
Among the hardest hit countries in Europe with more than 128,700 deaths, the United Kingdom has recently recorded more than 50,000 new daily cases, an increase attributed to the Delta variant, which is more contagious.
To justify its decision to abandon, among other things, the obligation to wear a mask or gauge in stadiums or theaters despite warnings from scientists, the government invokes its vaccination program, which has made it possible to completely vaccinate nearly 69% adults.
The vaccination campaign extended to vulnerable young people
"
If we don't do it now, then when?"
Boris Johnson pleaded, noting the increased risk in colder times and when schools are functioning.
The campaign will now extend to young people aged 12 to 15, but only those who are vulnerable.
Currently, young people over the age of 16 can be vaccinated if they are clinically extremely vulnerable or at high risk due to underlying conditions.
Read also: Covid-19: Boris Johnson forced to self-isolate on the eve of the lifting of restrictions
12-17 year-olds who are in contact with immunocompromised people in their homes will also be concerned, he added, as well as 17-year-olds in the three months preceding their 18th birthday. The vaccine used will be Pfizer / BioNTech, which has been approved for children over 12 by the UK regulator.