Nightclub revellers likely to need Covid status certification for entry

Nightclub revellers are set to be forced to prove their Covid vaccine status to get past bouncers and onto the dance floor when they reopen their doors in England from 19 July, it has been revealed.

Club operators will initially be allowed to decide for themselves whether to operate a Covid passport scheme using the NHS smartphone.

But Boris Johnson said that he expected them to do so voluntarily “as a matter of social responsibility”, while official guidance warned that the government will consider making checks mandatory in venues “if sufficient measures are not taken to limit infection”.

It was unclear whether larger pubs will be caught by the guidance, which refers only to “large, crowded settings where people are likely to be in close proximity to others outside their household”.

Further details are expected in the next few days, and government is promising to work with the industry over the next few weeks to assist in its implementation. But there are no plans for additional financial support to help businesses cope with the burden of checks.

The industry welcomed the decision not to mandate Covid passports. Michael Kill, the chief executive of the Night Time Industries Association, said: “Much of the night-time economy relies on spontaneous consumers, and by permitting businesses to opt out, the government have allowed for this trade to continue.”

But British Beer and Pub Association chief executive Emma McClarkin warned that the new guidance must not be used to “impose unnecessary and unfair restrictions on pubs via the backdoor – resulting in ‘Freedom Day’ for pubs being in name only”.

Ms McClarkin said the removal of social distancing rules will allow a further 2,000 pubs to reopen in England.

“High-risk” mass attendance venues will be encouraged and supported to introduce certification schemes similar to those used during trials at clubs and concerts earlier this spring.

Access will be granted by the app showing double-vaccination status, a recent negative lateral flow test or evidence of natural immunity through previous infection.

Asked whether the system would enable club-goers to dodge checks by falsely reporting negative results from fast-turnaround tests, a Downing Street spokesperson said that there was little evidence of this happening in earlier pilots.

“It’s possible for people to be less than scrupulous on this,” said the spokesperson. “But the purpose of certification is to put processes in place to prompt responsible behaviour. In the pilot, we saw how effective this approach was.”

Mr Kill said: “The decision to go ahead with reopening on 19 July is the correct one. After 16 months of crippling restrictions, businesses in the night time economy are ready to play our part in the safe reopening of society. Today should mark the beginning of nightlife’s long journey to rebuild itself.”

He said that any guidance on Covid certification should be “practical and easy to navigate”, and that the govnerment was “right not to mandate the use of Covid status certification systems”.