Covid passport trials to begin: Boris Johnson is set to unveil a test scheme for venues on Monday

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Trials of vaccine passports could begin as soon as next month, the Mail can reveal. Theatres and stadiums are being lined up to pilot the controversial scheme under plans discussed by ministers.

The passports could also be used eventually in pubs, restaurants, nightclubs and cinemas. Pilot schemes will begin after work is completed on an updated version of the NHS Covid app which will let users prove they have been vaccinated.

The plan is a sign Boris Johnson will give vaccine passports the go-ahead on Monday, when he is due to report the interim results of a study led by Michael Gove.

But their introduction is certain to trigger a huge political row. Last night 72 MPs – including libertarian Tories and senior Labour figures – issued a joint statement branding vaccine passports ‘divisive and discriminatory’ and vowing to oppose them.

This threatens a major headache for the Prime Minister if he needs legislation to bring the scheme in.

The Mail can also reveal that Mr Johnson’s ‘roadmap’ for lifting almost all restrictions by June 21 could now be dependent on a functioning vaccine passport programme.

One Whitehall source last night admitted it is vital if the Government is to hit its target of ending all social distancing this summer.

Yesterday, the Prime Minister dropped a further hint he has come round to the idea, saying vaccine passports could help to provide ‘maximum confidence to businesses and customers’.

He stressed any scheme would also allow people to show a negative test result or proof they already have Covid antibodies.

Speaking on a visit to Middlesbrough, the PM said vaccine passports now looked inevitable for foreign travel. But he suggested they would also have a ‘useful’ role to play domestically. It came as:

• Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty said Covid would eventually have to be managed in a similar way to serious seasonal viruses such as flu;
• Cases continued to fall after pupils returned to school, in a boost for plans to press ahead with easing lockdown;
• Another 51 deaths and 4,479 cases were reported;
• An incredible 93 per cent of over-50s have now been vaccinated;
• Ministers appeared set to introduce a ‘traffic light’ system to open up flights to countries with low Covid rates;
• Police chiefs warned the public not to bend the rules this Easter weekend;
• Emmanuel Macron was accused of acting like an arrogant king over France’s new national lockdown.

The vaccine passports row exploded last month when ministers confirmed they were considering the idea – after a string of denials.

Mr Johnson then suggested to MPs that they could eventually be needed to visit the pub.

A working group led by Mr Gove has been leading a review, with the PM due to give an update on Monday.

The roadmap out of lockdown paves the way for around a dozen pilot schemes on allowing crowds to attend ‘large events’ from April 12 through May.

These reportedly include the FA Cup final, an FA Cup semi-final, the League Cup final and the World Snooker Championships as well as the Brit Awards being discussed.

Attendees will have to take a Covid test and another after the event to register any infections.

The Brit Awards – scheduled for May 11 – said ‘we hope this year’s show can be part of the pilot scheme’. But they added a decision has not been made.

Whitehall sources say these schemes will also now be used to test the emerging technology needed for vaccine passports.

Ministers hope an updated version of the NHS app will allow users to display their vaccine status on their phones.

They have already decided people should be able to demonstrate their risk status in other ways, such as providing a negative test result.

This is deigned to get around concerns the scheme could ‘discriminate’ against those not able or willing to have a jab.

A Whitehall source said of the vaccine passports idea: ‘It is part of the trade-off for getting rid of social distancing.

‘The hope is that people will be willing to tolerate it in order to get back to doing the things they love.’

Mr Johnson said: ‘There’s definitely going to be a world in which international travel will use vaccine passports.

‘I think when it comes to trying to make sure that we give maximum confidence to businesses and customers in the UK, there are three things – there’s immunity, whether you have had it before so you have natural antibodies, whether you have been vaccinated, and of course whether you have had a test.

‘Those three things working together will be useful for us as we go forward.’

But there is growing cross-party concern about the idea of requiring people to produce evidence of their health status to carry out everyday activities such as going to the pub or even the office.

Former minister Steve Baker, deputy chairman of the 70-strong Covid Recovery Group, said this would be ‘unthinkable’. Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey described the scheme this week as ‘unworkable and illiberal’.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said he would study any Government proposals but warned his party could oppose the ‘un-British’ plan. Those in the Commons said to be concerned include 40 Conservatives, 20 in Labour and 10 Liberal Democrats.

Meanwhile Britain’s daily coronavirus cases have dropped by a third in a week and deaths are continuing to fall, official data revealed today as a catalogue of statistics showed England’s outbreak is still shrinking.

Department of Health bosses posted 4,479 lab-confirmed cases today and 51 deaths — down 20 per cent on the same time last week.

Figures also showed more second vaccine doses (404,922) than first shots (241,906) were dished out for the second day in a row.

Data across the board revealed the virus remains in retreat, prompting experts to claim reopening schools had a ‘very small’ impact on cases and England was in a ‘good position’ for the next bout of lockdown-easing on April 12.

The Office for National Statistics estimated 148,100 Britons were infected on any given day last week — the lowest figure since before the second wave spiralled out of control and down almost 10 per cent on the previous seven-day spell.

Figures from a symptom-tracking app monitoring the size of the country’s outbreak also claimed the number of people falling ill with tell-tale signs of the disease every day has dropped by a similar amount to 2,800. 

And Public Health England data revealed cases have fallen in every age group except secondary school children, offering more proof that reopening classrooms on March 8 has not triggered any resurgence.

Separate Test and Trace figures today also added to the heartening estimates, showing the number of people diagnosed with Covid in England fell by two per cent last week with 36,606 cases – the fewest since September.

PHE statistics revealed infection rates were rising in a quarter of councils across the country – but that the rise was entirely down to a spike in 10 to 19 year olds.

It comes as police issued stern warnings officers will be enforcing lockdown this weekend, with millions expected to use the four-day Easter break to enjoy the first weekend of eased restrictions to meet with family and friends.

Experts also warned coronavirus cases will spike next week and the country could be plunged into a fourth lockdown if people fail go wild over the bank holiday.

Pressure is mounting on Boris Johnson to speed up the lifting of lockdown restrictions, in the face of the shrinking outbreak and successful vaccination drive.

But the Prime Minister has so far defied calls from anti-lockdown Tory MPs, sticking to his ultra-cautious roadmap back to normality.   

The ONS report is based on test results from 144,000 random members of the population which are then scaled up to the whole country.

It found infection rates were highest in Yorkshire, the North East and the North West, at 0.4 per cent, and lowest in the South East and South West, at 0.1 per cent.

The rate was 0.3 per cent – three in a thousand – in the East and West Midlands and in London, and 0.2 per cent in the East of England.

Of the devolved nations, Wales has the lowest infection rate (0.18 per cent) and Northern Ireland the highest (0.45 per cent), while it was 0.32 per cent in Scotland.

When the figures were broken down by age group they showed cases had only risen among 16 to 24-year-olds, to 0.31 per cent, but had remained stable in 11 to 15-year-olds at 0.42 per cent.

Case rates were lowest among 50 to 69-year-olds (0.14 per cent), who are being offered at least one dose of the Covid vaccine.

And over-70s (0.18 per cent), where everyone in this age groups has been offered at least one dose of the jab.

Public Health England’s data, taken from the official swab testing system, backed this up and showed that infection rates also fell in all age groups except 10 to 19-year-olds where they rose by seven per cent to 109.8 cases per 100,000 people.

Over-70s – who are most at risk of becoming ill if they catch the virus – still had the lowest infection rate (10.7 per 100,000).

PHE data showed that a quarter of local authorities in England – or 41 out of 149 – saw a rise in Covid cases last week, Public Health England’s weekly surveillance report revealed today, with the upticks being driven by school children.

Figures showed infection rates fell in all age groups except 10 to 19-year-olds where they rose by seven per cent to 109.8 cases per 100,000 people. Over-70s – who are most at risk of becoming ill if they catch the virus – still had the lowest infection rate (10.7 per 100,000). Everyone in this group has been offered a Covid vaccine.

The council areas recording rising infection rates were mostly based in London, where nine boroughs saw an increase including Bexley where they doubled, and the South East with eight councils recording more cases than previously including the Isle of Wight, Oxfordshire and Windsor and Maidenhead.

But pockets of growing infections were scattered across England including five areas in the South West – Devon, Cornwall, and Plymouth among others – and four in the North West – Trafford, Oldham and Central Manchester.

The Covid Symptom Study app had suggested cases were already increasing in London and the South East last week. But PHE data disputed this, saying cases in all regions were still falling.

The app, published early ahead of Good Friday, bases its estimates on reports from more than a million Britons on whether they are feeling unwell, what symptoms they are suffering, and if they have tested positive for the virus.

But it can only detect symptomatic infections – which trigger warning signs of the virus – and not asymptomatic cases thought to make up about a third of the total infections across the country.

Covid cases fell in all age groups last week except schoolchildren aged up to 19 years old, according to the app, where they remained steady.

The highest number of daily symptomatic cases, the Symptom Study found, were in London and the West Midlands (510 each), estimates suggest, followed by the East Midlands (369), Yorkshire and the Humber (346) and the South East (303). 

Professor Spector added: ‘As cases decline again, we’re seeing regional divides widen to a three-fold difference, a familiar trend we saw last summer when cases were similarly low.’   

Separate data from Test and Trace today showed England’s outbreak shrunk by two per cent in the week to March 24 after 36,606 people tested positive for Covid. For comparison, the figure for the previous seven-day spell was 37,289.

Some 7.1million lateral flow tests for Covid were also done last week, down from 7.7million in the previous week, as schools were asked to test pupils twice a week to root out any cases of the virus.

PHE’s data showed 10 to 19-year-olds had the highest Covid infection rate in England last week at 109.8 cases per 100,000. This was up from the 102.3 recorded the week before.

All pupils were invited back to schools on March 8 with twice weekly testing in place to ensure any outbreaks were snuffed out quickly.

Experts say the escalated testing regime could have led to more asymptomatic infections – which cause no symptoms – being picked up that would previously have gone unreported.

Over-30s had the second-highest infection rate (71.6), but this was down 12 per cent on the previous week (81.2), and over-40s had the third highest (61.2), also down 15 per cent on the week before (15 per cent).

The lowest infection rate was among the over-70s, who have all been offered at least one dose of the vaccine, followed by the over-60s (20.1), who have also all been offered a first dose.    

Test and Trace figures also showed there were 30,779 people transferred to the contact tracing system, of whom 91.4 per cent were reached and asked to provide details of close contacts – people they had been near for more than 15 minutes.  

The UK’s successful vaccine rollout means it is now in the best position of all major European nations, despite being the worst hit in January.

President Emmanuel Macron last night blamed the so-called ‘British variant’ for the country’s surge in cases, saying it created ‘a pandemic inside a pandemic’ as France heads into its third national lockdown from Saturday. 

Meanwhile experts warn coronavirus cases will spike next week and the country could be plunged into a fourth lockdown if people fail to heed advice over the Easter bank holiday weekend.

Police have stepped up patrols and are begging parents to control their children over the four-day break, in the wake of carnage seen across the country this week.

Lockdown restrictions eased for the first time in months on Monday, allowing groups to meet outdoors – but experts fear the loosening of rules may lead to a dangerous spike in Covid cases, with millions expected to use the four-day Easter break to enjoy the first weekend of eased restrictions to meet with family and friends.

Professor Adam Finn tweeted: ‘Throngs of young people crowded together in their hundreds enjoying the beautiful warm evening together by the water.

‘A complete change. If this is happening everywhere then we can confidently expect case numbers to rise next week.’ And Professor Lawrence Young warned the virus was ‘still out there and very infectious.’

He told the Sun Online: ‘While the risk of transmission is low in outdoor spaces, crowding together could result in some spread of the virus and it’s too easy to take liberties which we consider to be low risk but aren’t e.g. close contact by hugging or popping inside to go to somebody else’s toilet.

‘We need to hang on in there with the current restrictions for a bit longer – none of us want another lockdown.’

This comes as police forces across the country including Merseyside, Humberside, Dorset, Sussex and Cheshire today issued stern warnings that officers will be out enforcing lockdown measures, such as the rule of six.

An RAC survey projects 5.6million cars will hit the road this weekend to visit loved ones, taking advantage of the four-day holiday and end of three-month ‘stay at home’ orders, which were replaced with ‘stay local’ on Monday.  

Pressure is mounting on Boris Johnson to speed up the lifting of lockdown restrictions, in the face of the shrinking outbreak and successful vaccination drive.

But the Prime Minister has so far defied calls from anti-lockdown Tory MPs, sticking to his ultra-cautious roadmap back to normality.

Other police chiefs warned ministers that the ‘rule of six’ is virtually unenforceable because of the two household concession, which puts no limit on numbers. Across the country yesterday:

• MANCHESTER: Police cleared drinkers from Castlefield Bowl after revellers gathered for a live DJ set;
• NOTTINGHAM: Officers seized bottles of alcohol from sunseekers and poured it onto the grass;
• LEICESTER: Police begged parents to control their children, admitting they ‘could not sort this alone’;
• HARBOROUGH: Councillor accused revellers they risk exploding ‘deadly Covid-19 timebomb’ after parties;
• LEEDS: Police threatened to disperse further big crowds after fights broke out at Hyde Park in Leeds. 

New Test and Trace rules will force EVERY pub-goer to sign in when venues reopen – but are blasted by trade bodies

• New Test and Trace rules force all over-16s to check in to NHS test and trace app
• Must give details before going into pubs, cafés or restaurants when they reopen
• Marks change from last year which saw pubs demand details of 1 group member
• Comes as Boris Johnson hinted Britons will need vaccine passport to go abroad  

New Test and Trace rules forcing every pub-goer in a group to sign in when entering have been blasted by trade bodies.

The rules force all over-16s to check in to the NHS Test and Trace app or give their details to staff before going into pubs, cafés or restaurants when they reopen on April 12. 

‘Reasonable steps’ must also be taken by pubs to make sure that people who refuse to hand their details cannot come in, the Government said.

It marks a change from last year’s rules, which saw only one group member forced to share their details.

Trade body UKHospitality, the British Beer & Pub Association and the British Institute of Innkeeping wrote a joint letter to the Prime Minister saying the rule ‘threatens the very survival of thousands of businesses’.

It comes as Boris Johnson said proof of vaccination and having had a test could help provide ‘maximum confidence to businesses and customers in the UK’.

The statement is likely to be viewed as a sign that the Government does intend to proceed with some sort of domestic ‘Covid status certification’. 

The trade bodies said demanding details – alongside the potential need for negative tests and proof of vaccination – from customers was ‘a triple whammy for hard-pressed publicans who have been forcibly closed for months’.

The statement read: ‘It now seems the hospitality industry could be burdened with vaccine passports, and over-complicated test and trace rules.

‘This could prevent millions of young people visiting the pub for months, unless they get themselves tested in advance.’

They added: ‘Pubs will already be trading at a loss when they reopen with all the existing restrictions and Covid-secure measures in place.

‘Adding further disproportionate and discriminatory measures threatens the very survival of thousands of businesses.’

Their statement comes as England’s Covid outbreak continues to shrink, with the country’s cases dropping by a third in a week and deaths continuing to fall.

Department of Health bosses posted 4,479 lab-confirmed cases today and 51 deaths — down 20 per cent on the same time last week.

Figures also showed more second vaccine doses (404,922) than first shots (241,906) were dished out for the second day in a row.

Earlier today, the PM said during a visit to Middlesbrough that there is ‘definitely going to be a world in which international travel will use vaccine passports’.

Ministers are due to report with their initial findings on the subject on Monday next week but the PM is facing a growing battle to get a scheme passed into law after Sir Keir Starmer suggested needing a passport to go to the pub would be un-British.

The Labour leader hinted that his party could line up alongside Tory rebels to oppose the idea, raising the prospect of Mr Johnson struggling to get legislation through the House of Commons.

One Tory MP said on the potential for the Government to lose a vote on vaccine passports: ‘If Labour are not onside that puts it in a totally different position.’

Another Tory MP warned against rolling out domestic certificates as they said some people may be unable to have a jab and therefore the policy would result in an ‘unfair two-tier system’.

Mr Johnson’s comments on vaccine passports for international travel were welcomed by the Airlines UK trade body. 

It said a digital system built on vaccination status and test results ‘will make it easier for customers’ to travel but stressed there is a need for a ‘common international approach’.   

Sir Keir said in an interview with the The Daily Telegraph that demanding certificates to enter pubs or sporting events would go against the ‘British instinct’ and indicated there could be public opposition if Covid death rates are near zero and hospital admissions are very low.

Mr Johnson last week suggested pubs and other venues could require customers to show a vaccine passport – which are likely to feature a combination of vaccine and testing data – to gain entry.

But while the idea has strong support among the public, according to polls, it is opposed by hospitality industry figures and some politicians on economic and civil liberties grounds.

Sir Keir said his ‘instinct’ told him there will be ‘a British sense that we don’t actually want to go down this road’ as the pandemic comes to an end.

The Labour leader said: ‘My instinct is that, as the vaccine is rolled out, as the number of hospital admissions and deaths go down, there will be a British sense that we don’t actually want to go down this road.’

He continued: ‘I think this is really difficult and I’m not going to pretend there’s a clear black and white, yes-no easy answer on this.

‘It is extremely difficult. My instinct is that… (if) we get the virus properly under control, the death rates are near zero, hospital admissions very, very low, that the British instinct in those circumstances will be against vaccine passports.’

Some Tory MPs, led by the former Cabinet minister David Davis, have expressed serious concerns about the potential use of domestic vaccine passports. 

Mr Davis, who has backed using the documents for international travel, said using them to determine entry to pubs or other businesses could be illegal. 

Mr Johnson said today: ‘There’s definitely going to be a world in which international travel will use vaccine passports.

‘You can see already that other countries, the aviation industry, are interested in this and there’s a logic to that.

‘I think when it comes to trying to make sure that we give maximum confidence to businesses and customers in the UK, there are three things – there’s immunity whether you have had it before so you have natural antibodies, whether you have been vaccinated, and of course whether you have had a test.’

Welsh First Minister Mark Drakeford said he had been in discussions with the UK Government about a vaccine passport scheme. 

He said: ‘There are positive prizes to be won from having a successful vaccine certification scheme but there are many practical and ethical issues that will need to be addressed and resolved successfully if those positive opportunities can be won from it.’ 

An Airlines UK spokesman said: ‘A proper integrated digital solution that can verify travellers’ data across borders, be it testing results or vaccination status, will make it easier for customers and remove further complexity to the passenger journey, therefore making travel more attractive. 

‘The PM’s words are therefore extremely welcome as is the commitment of the UK Government to work with the EU and through the G7 to agree a common international approach to passports, that can satisfy concerns around data and privacy whilst being recognised in as many countries as possible around the world.’