Covid: Vaccine passports still being considered by Welsh Government as go ahead given in England

The Welsh Government are still considering whether or not to introduce vaccine passports as Downing Street signals an intention to press ahead with plans.

Downing Street confirmed the UK Government intends to press on with plans to introduce vaccine passports for nightclubs in England, an idea which has previously been met with criticism from MPs in both parties.

But the Welsh Government is yet to commit to the plans. "We are considering the case for the use of Covid passes for entry into higher risk settings", a spokesperson said on Sunday.

"We continue to assess the latest evidence and rationale for their introduction, alongside the latest public health position."

It comes after vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi told Sky News that introducing vaccine passports for large venues is the “right thing to do” to ensure the whole economy remains open.

The scheme would see members of the public required to show proof they have had two doses of a Covid-19 vaccine in order to gain entry to clubs and other large-scale events.

Asked if he has made up his mind about vaccine passports, vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi told Sky’s Trevor Phillips on Sunday: "We are looking at, by the end of September when everyone has had the opportunity to be fully vaccinated, for the large venues, venues that could end up causing a real spike in infections, where we need to use the certification process.

"If you look at what the FA have done, they’ve done so brilliantly in terms of checking vaccine status to reopen football.

"That is the sort of right thing to do and we are absolutely on track to continue to make sure that we do that.

"There’s a reason for that … the reason being is that, I, as does the Prime Minister, want to make sure the whole economy remains open.

"The worst thing we can do for those venues is to have a sort of open-shut-open-shut strategy because we see infection rates rise because of the close interaction of people, that’s how the virus spreads, if people are in close spaces in large numbers we see spikes appearing.

"The best thing to do then is to work with the industry to make sure that they can open safely and sustainably in the long term, and the best way to do that is to check vaccine status."

Last month, Wales' First Minister Mark Drakeford said that there is concern around the rising level of cases in Wales and if it was "necessary" to introduce some more restrictions, "then that is what we would have to do".

His comments came after the Welsh Government confirmed there would be no changes to the coronavirus restrictions but the first minister urged people to get vaccinated.