Large Events In Scotland To Require Vaccine Passports

Hampden Park Scotland In a move to help stem the recent surge in the number of COVID-related cases, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has said that vaccine passports will be necessary for entry to nightclubs and many large events in Scotland from later this month.

Her justification for this move is that several areas of Scotland are among the regions with the highest rates of the virus in Europe, and the number of people admitted to hospital has doubled in just the past 10 days.

The new vaccine certification rules will mean anyone over the age of 18 will have to prove they have had both doses of the vaccine before they can enter:

  • Nightclubs and adult entertainment venues;
  • Unseated indoor live events, with more than 500 people in the audience;
  • Unseated outdoor live events, with more than 4,000 people in the audience;
  • Any event, of any nature, which has more than 10,000 people in attendance.
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The new rules will have an impact on many Scottish events, football matches especially, but all also sports and concerts and music festivals.

However the efficacy of these plans are suspect to some. SPFL chief executive Neil Doncaster said Premiership football clubs had both "a significant number of questions and real concern" about the plan, saying: "It's not clear what IT infrastructure will be in place, what time-scales clubs will be asked to work to, or what can be done for those without smart phones.

"And it's not clear if it's going to cut across terms and conditions of seasons tickets already bought by people across the land."

Ms Sturgeon said the hospitality industry as a whole would not presently be included in the certification scheme,  although that decision would be kept under review. There are also no plans to include key services or settings where people have no choice over attendance e.g. shops, public transport, education and medical services. An exemption would apply to anyone who has good reasons for not getting fully vaccinated. This includes people with particular medical conditions and children.

Hampden Park Stadium