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UK vaccine passport trials to begin in coming months
Millions mark Easter under lockdown; Pope calls vaccines an essential tool in the fight against Covid-19
Britain’s government is planning to trial a coronavirus status certification plan over the coming months to allow the safe return of mass gatherings at places like sports grounds and nightclubs.
Officials are expected to consider passports that show whether a person has received a vaccine, has recently tested negative for the virus, or has immunity due to having tested positive in the previous six months.
The trial events will include soccer’s FA Cup semi-final and final, the World Snooker Championships, and a comedy club show. Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to set out more details on Monday.
Pope urges jabs for poor
Rome: Millions of Christians around the world celebrated a second Easter under coronavirus restrictions on Sunday with Pope Francis calling for vaccines to be shared among the poorest nations as Covid-19 surges.
Despite vaccine rollouts gathering pace in many richer countries, dramatic spikes in cases have seen deeply unpopular restrictions enforced from Canada to Europe and South America. Vaccination was “an essential tool” in the fight against the virus, the pope said in his Easter Sunday address, with Italy under a strict lockdown over the weekend.
“I urge the entire international community... to commit to overcoming delays in the distribution of vaccines and to facilitate their distribution, especially in the poorest countries,” he said to a congregation of only around 100 people inside the vast St Peter’s Basilica.
Stricter curbs have come into effect in Belgium as well as in France, where authorities are scrambling to deal with a serious spike in cases.
Across the Atlantic, Canada marked a grim milestone of one million Covid-19 cases. According to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the number of cases was at 1,001,651 on Saturday, becoming the 23rd nation to cross the million mark. The increase in caseload has resulted in several provinces enforcing restrictive measures again.
And celebrations have been dampened in South America too, where Brazil is in the grip of a devastating outbreak. The worrying situation led Peru to go into an Easter lockdown, Bolivia to seal the frontier with Brazil, and Chile to close all borders.
