Welsh Government will introduce an 'NHS COVID Pass' to enter nightclubs and attend events in Wales from next month.
First Minister Mark Drakeford will announce that people will have to either be double vaccinated or show a negative lateral flow test result within the last 48 hours.
As well as nightclubs it will impact things like the autumn rugby internationals at the Principality stadium and Wales's football World Cup qualifiers against Belarus and Belgium.
This comes despite a plea from the nightlife industry to not introduce vaccines passports over concerns about the economic damage and the risk of causing division and confrontation at venues.
Scotland are also introducing vaccines passports although unlike in Wales they don't offer the alternative of a lateral flow test to obtain entry.
海角视频 Government is not introducing them in England at this point but says it is part of 'Plan B' if cases and hospitalisations rise over autumn and winter.
Welsh Government said the measure is being introduced to help control the spread of coronavirus – cases are currently at around 500 per 100K in Wales - but the alert level will remain at zero for the next three weeks.
Covid hospitalisations are currently at 668 - a big increase on a month ago (191) but well down on the winter peak of over 2,800.
Most Read
Get business news direct to your inbox
There's no better time to stay up to date with economic and business news from your region. By signing up for our daily newsletters, email breaking news alerts and weekly round-ups from all the major sectors, you get our journalism direct by email. To sign up, find out more and see all of our newsletters, follow the link here
The First Minister also today encouraged everyone to work from home whenever possible and to make sure they are fully vaccinated.
Awareness and enforcement of other key Covid protection measures, including face coverings in indoor public places and on public transport, will be increased.
The requirement to show an NHS COVID Pass will come into force from 11 October. It will mean all over-18s will need to have a NHS COVID Pass to enter:
- Nightclubs
- Indoor, non-seated events for more than 500 people, such as concerts or conventions
- Outdoor non-seated events for more than 4,000 people
- Any setting or event with more than 10,000 people in attendance
People who are fully vaccinated in Wales can already download the NHS COVID Pass to securely show and share their vaccine status. It also allows people to show they have had a negative lateral flow test result within the last 48 hours.
First Minister Mark Drakeford said: “Across Wales, coronavirus cases have risen to very high levels over the summer as more people have been gathering and meeting. Tragically, more people are dying from this terrible virus.
“The very strong advice we have from our scientific advisers is to take early action to prevent infections increasing further.
Don’t miss
“The last thing we want is further lockdowns and for businesses to have to close their doors once again. That’s why we must take small but meaningful action now to control the spread of the virus and reduce the need for tougher measures later.”
Mr Drakeford added: “We hope introducing the requirement to show a COVID pass will help keep venues and events – many of which have only recently started trading again – open.
“Showing a COVID Pass is already part of our collective effort to keep businesses open with some major events, such as the successful Green Man Festival, using it. We will continue to work closely with all businesses affected to ensure a smooth introduction and operation of this system.
“We want to do everything we can to Keep Wales Safe as we head into the autumn.”
Yesterday the Night Time Industries Association (NTIA) Wales Commission said: "We are deeply concerned by the prospect of these measures, and the unique impact they will have on our sector – a sector which has seen the most prolonged closures throughout the pandemic, suffered some of the most job losses, and is still reeling from this impact.
"We note below our grave concerns about ‘vaccine passports’, not borne of any ethical considerations – which is for others to comment on – but from the practical realities of their use.
They added: "The fact that the 海角视频 Government has announced certification measures are ‘unnecessary’ at present for England , meaning that nightlife venues in Wales risk losing custom to English venues at the very moment needed to recover from the devastating impact of the pandemic.
"These issues would be compounded by confrontation between staff and disgruntled consumers without certification, with unclear guidance on the implementation of exemptions , and worries about fraudulent activity from fake certification."