VACCINE passport trials will begin from mid-April, Tory PM Johnson announced at the 5pm briefing yesterday.
When asked he said: ‘Obviously we are looking at it, we want to be going ahead in the next few weeks with some test events, some pilot events, which you can see in the road map that we have laid out.’
More than 70 MPs, including 40 Conservatives, former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and Liberal Democrat members have forged a parliamentary alliance to oppose ‘Covid identity documents’.
Four former Tory cabinet ministers, including Iain Duncan Smith and Andrew Mitchell, are among the group along with key Labour MPs such as John McDonnell, Clive Lewis, Diane Abbott and Rebecca Long-Bailey.
Johnson said: ‘There are three ingredients for your Covid certification. Or three ways in which you can give reassurance to others. Number one is your immunity, if you have had the virus in the last six months, number two is vaccination status and number three is testing.’
He told the briefing: ‘We have now vaccinated more than 31 million people’, but as he was speaking, figures came in showing there have been 26 deaths in the last 24-hours and 2,762 new cases.
‘The net result of your efforts and of course of the vaccine roll-out is that I can today confirm that, from Monday 12th April, we will move to step two of our road map.
‘Re-opening shops, gyms, zoos, holiday camp sites, personal care services like hairdressers and of course beer gardens.
‘Outdoor hospitality of all kinds.
‘And on Monday the 12th I will be going to the pub myself and cautiously but irreversibly raising a pint of beer to my lips.
‘We are also increasing the number of visitors to care homes from one to two, to allow residents to see more of their loved ones.
‘We think that these changes are fully justified by the data, which show that we are meeting our four tests for easing the lockdown …
‘… But, and you know that I am going to say this, we can’t be complacent.
‘We can see the waves of sickness afflicting other countries and we have seen how this story goes.
‘We still don’t know how strong the vaccine shield will be as cases begin to rise as I am afraid that they will. That is why we are saying please get your vaccine or second dose when your turn comes.
‘Please use the free NHS tests even if you do not feel ill. Because remember one in three people with this virus does not have symptoms.
‘You can get these tests from your pharmacies from your local test sites or even order them on Gov.uk.
‘We are publishing today the potential role of Covid status certification and the resumption of international travel.’