Scotland's vaccine passport scheme deemed an "unmitigated disaster" by SHG
According to the Scottish Hospitality Group (SHG) [1], hospitality staff faced "intolerable levels of abuse," since the enforcement of the Covid passport scheme. Many venues also saw a drop in footfall of up to 40%.
The weekend saw 550 instances of people being refused entry due to them having no vaccine passport, an ineligible vaccine passport, or a potentially fraudulent vaccine passport.
The group is now calling on the Government [2] to scrap the scheme, which has been legally enforceable since October 18.
Stephen Montgomery, a spokesperson for the SHG, said: "The first weekend of the vaccine passports scheme has been one of unmitigated disaster, and that responsibility lies entirely at the door of the Scottish Government.
"The experience of this weekend shows that the result has been intolerable levels of abuse of our staff and the creation of an atmosphere that will totally undermine anyone's enjoyment of our night-time venues."
People over the age of 18 must show proof that they have had two doses of a Covid vaccine before entering specific venues or events in Scotland [3]. These include:
- Nightclubs and "analogous venues"
- Adult entertainment venues
- Unseated indoor events with more than 500 people, even if some are seated
- Unseated outdoor events with more than 4,000 people
- Any event with more than 10,000 people in attendance
People who have had two vaccines in Scotland can download or get a paper copy of a certificate with a QR code [4].
A Scottish Government spokeswoman said: “Covid-19 certification is a proportionate way of encouraging people to get vaccinated, and also of helping large events and night-time hospitality to keep operating during what will potentially be a very difficult winter.