Publié
Fri, Sep 3, 2021, 09:10
- First minister Nicola Sturgeon says the move is necessary due to a recent surge in Covid-19 cases.
Vaccine passports will be required for entry into nightclubs and large events in Scotland, first minister Nicola Sturgeon has announced.
The proposal, which will need to be signed off by members of the Scottish parliament next week, follows a recent surge of new Covid-19 cases. Scotland recently recorded the highest number of daily Covid-19 cases since the start of the pandemic, the Guardian reports.
Impacting festivals, outdoor gigs and nightclubs, the proposed rules will mean that people over the age of 18 need to prove they have received two doses of the vaccine to be permitted entry. For unseated indoor events, this will apply to events with a capacity greater than 500, rising to 4,000 for unseated outdoor events. Any event of any nature—seated or unseated—of over 10,000 people will require proof of vaccination to attend.
"I'm double vaccinated myself," Glasgow-based DJ and promoter Nightwave told Resident Advisor. "But this is a complex ethical and human sovereignty matter. I fear vaccine passports will create even more division and further alienate certain people, while not actually tackling infection (or vaccination uptake) rates. We should be focussing on personal responsibility—regular testing before events and isolating when required."
Nick Stewart, director and booker at Edinburgh venue Sneaky Pete's, also thinks the focus should be on testing. "It's fairer to those who haven't had opportunity to be vaccinated, and encouraging testing before going out is a far better safety precaution," he told RA. "Scottish government say they are negotiating the ethical issues, but when it comes to activities young people want to do, they are just steamrollering ahead instead. At a minimum they need to make it apply to venues with a capacity of over 500."
He continued: "The government has done this without any consultation with grassroots venues. As we are just getting going again, it's a shocking time to inhibit trade in the sector of the economy worst affected by previous restrictions."
A similar scheme is set to be introduced in England later this month. Announced by the government's vaccine minister Nadhim Zahawi on July 19th—the same day that nightclubs reopened free of restrictions—clubs in England will require attendees to be fully vaccinated in order to enter. Proof of a negative test will no longer be sufficient.