Spain: Stephen Dixon discusses ‘vaccine passports’

When you subscribe we will use the information you provide to send you these newsletters.Sometimes they’ll include recommendations for other related newsletters or services we offer.Our Privacy Notice explains more about how we use your data, and your rights.You can unsubscribe at any time.

Holidays could resume as soon as May 17 according to Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s “roadmap” out of lockdown. Ahead of a travel announcement anticipated on April 5, the Prime Minister has confirmed vaccine passports will be a necessity for future global journeys.

Speaking during a visit to Middlesbrough, 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.

”Mr Johnson said the passports were a hot topic among airline industry personnel and other countries, adding: “There’s a logic to that.”

Currently, foreign travel for leisure purposes is illegal under UK lockdown regulations.

However, as these rules begin to lift in the coming months, the Government is looking at ways to resume travel.

The Global Travel Taskforce is due to meet from April 12 to discuss the possibility of safe travel.

One suggestion which has been put forward is a traffic light system.

This would label nations as “Green”, “Amber” or “Red” based on their Covid “risk”.

DON’T MISS
Kate Middleton: How her gap year travels prepared her for royal life [INSIDER]
Google Maps Street View users join in ‘hate’ of ‘giant inflatable’ [VIRAL]
Pound euro exchange rate boosted by ‘UK’s vaccination drive’ [GRAPH]

Many nations have already suggested they will accept Britons who have been vaccinated, or who have obtained a negative COVID-19 test result within a certain time period.

Vaccine passports are a key way in streamlining this process, with the EU already working on their own “digital green pass” which will work much like a vaccine passport.

The exact dates of when the scheme will begin are yet to be revealed.

However, under the digital green pass holidaymakers who have not been vaccinated will still be able to travel.

The “digital green pass” is thought to include information on whether or not a person has had one or two of their COVID-19 jabs, as well as any Covid test results.

It may also include information about whether a traveller has previously been diagnosed with the virus.

However, regardless of the vaccine passport, nations including Greece and Spain have suggested they will welcome back Britons in time for summer.

Speaking previously, Greece’s tourism minister Harry Theoharis said he is so confident travel will resume he encouraged Britons to “book holidays” now.

Mr Theoharis told The Telegraph Britons can “book flights and start choosing the places where they want to go.”

He added that when the time is right, Greece hopes to make visiting the nation as “smooth and hassle-free as possible.”

Spain has also backed plans for a Covid vaccine passport.

“It is good news as a sign of multilateral commitment. It could contribute to restoring mobility at European level,” said Reyes Maroto, Spain’s Minister of Industry, Trade and Tourism at the meeting of the Executive Council of the World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO).

Source: Read Full Article