'Vaccine certificates won't play a role in the initial re-opening of England's economy'

LONDON:

Pubs and restaurants won’t require vaccine certificates when they reopen under the current plans for an exit from lockdown in England, Minister for COVID Vaccine Deployment Nadhim Zahawi said on Tuesday.

Step 2 out of the roadmap will see shops and pub gardens reopen next week, while the reopening of indoor hospitality venues in step 3 is slated for May.

“Domestically, the step two, which we’re coming up to, (and) step three, there will be absolutely no issue around pubs or restaurants requiring any form of certification,” Zahawi told Sky News.

“But it’s only responsible as we see how this virus behaves, as we see how other countries are utilising technology to make sure that they keep the virus under control, then we should look at the same thing.”

Read more: Seven deaths in UK among AstraZeneca jab recipients after blood clots

Earlier, it was reported that Britain would focus on vaccinating the whole of its adult population before it can provide any surplus shots to other countries such as its close neighbour Ireland, British business minister Kwasi Kwarteng said.

More than 30 million Britons have received their first Covid-19 shots in the fastest vaccine rollout in Europe, with the aim of offering shots to all adults by the end of July.

However, Britain has found itself involved in a public spat with the European Union, where the vaccination programme has been much slower, over the supply of doses.

“I think our focus has to be to try and keep Britain safe, we want to work cooperatively as well with other countries but the main priority is to get the vaccine rollout,” Kwarteng told Sky News.