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End of 'Covid passports' for bar entry? Regions weigh up how far they've helped
26/01/2022
SHOWING a 'Covid passport' to enter bars and restaurants may soon cease to be a requirement in the vast majority of Spain's regions, although it will still be needed for travel within the European Union and for certain third countries.
From November, a total of 13 of the nation's 17 autonomously-governed regions made it compulsory for hospitality premises to scan customers' QR codes at the entrance, either on a physical, paper document or on a phone or laptop, issued by their regional health authority.
These are proof that the holder has been double-jabbed – or single-jabbed with the one-dose Janssen formula - has had and recovered from Covid within the past six months, or has either taken a PCR or antigen test with a negative result, 72 or 24 hours prior, respectively.
The move was controversial from the start, even though all residents aged 12 and over would have been given the option to take up the vaccine by November, and where they decided to do so, would have had both doses.
Over the next few weeks, though, showing a 'Covid passport' to get into a restaurant or bar is likely to fizzle out in much of the country.
Regions set to axe the compulsory QR code soon
Cantabria and Asturias on the northern coast have already announced they will eliminate the requirement, and the land-locked north-eastern region of Aragón is not permitted to continue to use the system beyond January 31 after applying to the court to do so and its request being denied.
Four other regions - Andalucía, La Rioja, Navarra and Galicia - had extended 'Covid passport' use up to and including January 31, but have decided not to do so beyond this date.
Catalunya, home to Spain's second-largest city – Barcelona – has just announced it will no longer be used, whilst the Comunidad Valenciana on the east coast has not given any indication of when, if at all, it might stop requesting sight of a 'Covid passport' in eating and drinking establishments.
'Covid passport' seen as alternative to restrictions and lockdowns
These measures were initially brought in as a response to the joint threat of the new Omicron variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, and the Christmas period when families, friends and colleagues would be gathering together to celebrate.
It came at a time when any notion of reapplying restrictions, such as curfews, early closure, lockdowns and similar were unanimously rejected by all parties in government, as well as by the public and the trade community.
Instead, 'Covid passports' for indoor premises that may become crowded, the continuation of compulsory mask-wearing in inside places or wherever a two-metre distance from others was impossible, and, since Christmas Eve, mandatory mask-wearing even outside and irrespective of distancing possibility, have been the main measures taken, whilst otherwise, simply carrying on with pre-Covid life.
Certain fiestas and celebrations have been called off, shops and other trade premises generally continue to stipulate a limit on numbers of people inside, potentially crowded areas or high-risk zones such as hospitals still separate those entering from those leaving via different 'lanes', hand-sanitiser use on entry to shops remains obligatory, and many companies continue to encourage staff to work remotely if possible.
Otherwise, only very specific and local restrictions are in place in certain regions or towns in response to very high contagion rates – at the moment, Catalunya and Navarra are the main hotspots.
Encouraging vaccine take-up rather than preventing contagion
Around nine in 10 adults and teenagers in Spain are fully vaccinated, and most of the 60-plus age group have had their third jab, although this does not necessarily prevent a person from catching Covid – just makes it less likely and the resulting condition typically less serious.
Once a vaccinated person is infected, he or she can pass on the condition in exactly the same way and same rate as an unvaccinated person with the virus.
These factors mean that although the overwhelming majority of restaurant and bar customers are able to produce a 'Covid passport' without any problems, its aim of preventing contagion may not have been achieved.
Experts have said the Omicron variant is contagious even among those vaccinated, and the 'Covid passport' in paper format can easily be passed around friend groups, meaning a non-vaccinated person may be able to borrow someone else's.
Cases have already been reported of those who do not wish to be inoculated downloading family members' 'passports' onto their phones and using these to get into restaurants.
Original purpose was to 'reopen international travel'
According to immunologists and epidemiologists, the main purpose the 'passport' seems to have served to date is encouraging members of the public to take up the vaccine.
This is the reason Cantabria's regional health boss Reinhard Wallman has given for not extending their use: That it is 'pointless' given how the Omicron is highly contagious even among those who have had their jabs.
Spain's central government has always been lukewarm about the 'Covid passport' requirements, opting to allow the different regions to make their own decisions.
In general, the national government considered the main objective of this document to be that of allowing international travel to restart, not for its use as an entry requirement for restaurants and bars.
All regions which wanted to implement its use as mandatory were required to seek consent from their federal high courts.
'False sense of safety'
Castilla y León was the first region to put forward the 'Covid passport' idea as a tool for boosting vaccine take-up, but in the end, never introduced its compulsory scanning for entering high-street establishments.
Madrid, Castilla-La Mancha and Extremadura all opted not to make it obligatory, citing more arguments against than in favour.
One of the 'againsts' was that it generated a false sense of safety and 'reduction in risk perception'; another was that its effective and efficient use could not be guaranteed as the responsibility would be, technically, passed entirely onto the shoulders of bar-owners; further, in countries where the 'Covid passport' had already been mandatory for some time, contagion rates had not gone down as a result.
In fact, the nightclubs trade association España de Noche ('Spain at Night') points out that contagion rates are worse in Catalunya, where the 'Covid passport' remains compulsory, than in Madrid, where it has never been introduced.
Regional governments which have been using it say that, at the very least, the 'passport' system allowed businesses that necessarily operate indoors and with lots of people in close proximity have been able to recover levels of activity closer to 'normality', and that users of these businesses who had not been jabbed were tending to decide to 'just get it done' for an easier life.
One region that has not followed either pattern is the Basque Country, which links 'Covid passport' requirements to current contagion rates – if ever these rise above 300 per 100,000 residents (0.3% of the population), the 'passport' becomes mandatory.
At present, though, the rate of contagion in the Basque Country is not far off 5,000 per 100,000, or 5% of the population.
Related Topics
SHOWING a 'Covid passport' to enter bars and restaurants may soon cease to be a requirement in the vast majority of Spain's regions, although it will still be needed for travel within the European Union and for certain third countries.
From November, a total of 13 of the nation's 17 autonomously-governed regions made it compulsory for hospitality premises to scan customers' QR codes at the entrance, either on a physical, paper document or on a phone or laptop, issued by their regional health authority.
These are proof that the holder has been double-jabbed – or single-jabbed with the one-dose Janssen formula - has had and recovered from Covid within the past six months, or has either taken a PCR or antigen test with a negative result, 72 or 24 hours prior, respectively.
The move was controversial from the start, even though all residents aged 12 and over would have been given the option to take up the vaccine by November, and where they decided to do so, would have had both doses.
Over the next few weeks, though, showing a 'Covid passport' to get into a restaurant or bar is likely to fizzle out in much of the country.
Regions set to axe the compulsory QR code soon
Cantabria and Asturias on the northern coast have already announced they will eliminate the requirement, and the land-locked north-eastern region of Aragón is not permitted to continue to use the system beyond January 31 after applying to the court to do so and its request being denied.
Four other regions - Andalucía, La Rioja, Navarra and Galicia - had extended 'Covid passport' use up to and including January 31, but have decided not to do so beyond this date.
Catalunya, home to Spain's second-largest city – Barcelona – has just announced it will no longer be used, whilst the Comunidad Valenciana on the east coast has not given any indication of when, if at all, it might stop requesting sight of a 'Covid passport' in eating and drinking establishments.
'Covid passport' seen as alternative to restrictions and lockdowns
These measures were initially brought in as a response to the joint threat of the new Omicron variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, and the Christmas period when families, friends and colleagues would be gathering together to celebrate.
It came at a time when any notion of reapplying restrictions, such as curfews, early closure, lockdowns and similar were unanimously rejected by all parties in government, as well as by the public and the trade community.
Instead, 'Covid passports' for indoor premises that may become crowded, the continuation of compulsory mask-wearing in inside places or wherever a two-metre distance from others was impossible, and, since Christmas Eve, mandatory mask-wearing even outside and irrespective of distancing possibility, have been the main measures taken, whilst otherwise, simply carrying on with pre-Covid life.
Certain fiestas and celebrations have been called off, shops and other trade premises generally continue to stipulate a limit on numbers of people inside, potentially crowded areas or high-risk zones such as hospitals still separate those entering from those leaving via different 'lanes', hand-sanitiser use on entry to shops remains obligatory, and many companies continue to encourage staff to work remotely if possible.
Otherwise, only very specific and local restrictions are in place in certain regions or towns in response to very high contagion rates – at the moment, Catalunya and Navarra are the main hotspots.
Encouraging vaccine take-up rather than preventing contagion
Around nine in 10 adults and teenagers in Spain are fully vaccinated, and most of the 60-plus age group have had their third jab, although this does not necessarily prevent a person from catching Covid – just makes it less likely and the resulting condition typically less serious.
Once a vaccinated person is infected, he or she can pass on the condition in exactly the same way and same rate as an unvaccinated person with the virus.
These factors mean that although the overwhelming majority of restaurant and bar customers are able to produce a 'Covid passport' without any problems, its aim of preventing contagion may not have been achieved.
Experts have said the Omicron variant is contagious even among those vaccinated, and the 'Covid passport' in paper format can easily be passed around friend groups, meaning a non-vaccinated person may be able to borrow someone else's.
Cases have already been reported of those who do not wish to be inoculated downloading family members' 'passports' onto their phones and using these to get into restaurants.
Original purpose was to 'reopen international travel'
According to immunologists and epidemiologists, the main purpose the 'passport' seems to have served to date is encouraging members of the public to take up the vaccine.
This is the reason Cantabria's regional health boss Reinhard Wallman has given for not extending their use: That it is 'pointless' given how the Omicron is highly contagious even among those who have had their jabs.
Spain's central government has always been lukewarm about the 'Covid passport' requirements, opting to allow the different regions to make their own decisions.
In general, the national government considered the main objective of this document to be that of allowing international travel to restart, not for its use as an entry requirement for restaurants and bars.
All regions which wanted to implement its use as mandatory were required to seek consent from their federal high courts.
'False sense of safety'
Castilla y León was the first region to put forward the 'Covid passport' idea as a tool for boosting vaccine take-up, but in the end, never introduced its compulsory scanning for entering high-street establishments.
Madrid, Castilla-La Mancha and Extremadura all opted not to make it obligatory, citing more arguments against than in favour.
One of the 'againsts' was that it generated a false sense of safety and 'reduction in risk perception'; another was that its effective and efficient use could not be guaranteed as the responsibility would be, technically, passed entirely onto the shoulders of bar-owners; further, in countries where the 'Covid passport' had already been mandatory for some time, contagion rates had not gone down as a result.
In fact, the nightclubs trade association España de Noche ('Spain at Night') points out that contagion rates are worse in Catalunya, where the 'Covid passport' remains compulsory, than in Madrid, where it has never been introduced.
Regional governments which have been using it say that, at the very least, the 'passport' system allowed businesses that necessarily operate indoors and with lots of people in close proximity have been able to recover levels of activity closer to 'normality', and that users of these businesses who had not been jabbed were tending to decide to 'just get it done' for an easier life.
One region that has not followed either pattern is the Basque Country, which links 'Covid passport' requirements to current contagion rates – if ever these rise above 300 per 100,000 residents (0.3% of the population), the 'passport' becomes mandatory.
At present, though, the rate of contagion in the Basque Country is not far off 5,000 per 100,000, or 5% of the population.
Related Topics
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