RAPID Covid tests may be the answer to getting Brits back into nightclubs and theatres, Boris Johnson said last night.
The PM slapped down calls to use vaccine passports to reopen parts of the UK economy after he lifts the lockdown, but said quick-results tests may help instead.
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Thousands of clubs and theatres across Britain have been unable to reopen since last March, and many are facing financial ruin.
The PM told the press conference yesterday “we will look at everything” and didn’t explicitly rule anything out.
But he insisted his preferred option would be a combination of vaccinating as many people as possible and perhaps rapid tests like those being used in schools and some workplaces alongside that.
He said he would like to see “a route that relies on mass vaccination… plus lateral flow testing for those bits which are the toughest nuts to crack such as nightclubs and theatres – those parts of the economy we couldn’t get open.”
It may mean Brits will be able to enjoy their favourite activities again, but may have to queue up earlier to do a test before they can go into the venue.
The PM vowed again to get vaccines to every Brit by the autumn.
Earlier the PM had insisted that while Brits may be able to use a vaccine certificate to travel abroad, it was unlikely they would be used in the UK to help unlock the nation.
He added: “I think inevitably there will be great interest in ideas like can you show that you had a vaccination against Covid in the way that you sometimes have to show you have had a vaccination against yellow fever or other diseases in order to travel somewhere.
“I think that is going to be very much in the mix down the road, I think that is going to happen.
“What I don’t think we will have in this country is – as it were – vaccination passports to allow you to go to, say, the pub or something like that.”
And Downing Street insisted it would be discriminatory for firms to force their workers to get them.
The Government has insisted they won’t be making the vaccines mandatory – but will encourage everyone to get it.
Sacha Lord, Night Time Economy Adviser for Greater Manchester hailed the PM’s words on rapid testing to get clubs back up and running.
He said: “I’m pleased the Prime Minister picked up on this suggestion today.
“It’s a positive step forward for all involved in the sector.
“We now need to keep momentum and implement these ideas as fast as possible. My fear is that they take another five months to get moving, which the industry simply doesn’t have.”
