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ARCHIVED - Valencia president outlines Covid passport plans
Hospitality and leisure establishments with a capacity of less than 50 in Alicante and the rest of the region will be exempt
The Valencian Government has requested authorisation from the Superior Court of Justice to implement the Covid passport in hospitality and leisure venues with a capacity of 50-plus, as well as for hospitals and nursing home visits.
President of the Generalitat, Ximo Puig, made the announcement this afternoon after a meeting of the Interdepartmental for Prevention and Action against Covid-19, and added that if the courts authorise the move, the scheme will be introduced from December 3 for a provisional period of 30 days.
Subject to approval, the Covid passport will be required in hotel and restaurant establishments with a capacity of more than 50 people; leisure and entertainment venues; and spaces for recreational and gambling activities (such as casinos and bingo halls) with restaurant services. It will also be required for visits in hospitals and public and private nursing and residential homes and at indoor and outdoor celebrations, festivals and events "when it is not feasible to wear a mask at all times".
To access affected venues, the public will need to prove they have a complete vaccination schedule, a negative PCR in the last 72 hours or a negative antigen test in the last 48 hours.
Puig has clarified that cinemas and theatres will be exempt as long as a seat is kept empty between groups because these venues "are not considered spaces in which the population remains for a prolonged period of time without a mask".
Premises where the certificate is mandatory to enter will display posters in their windows, and any sanctions for non-compliance will be decided on Friday November 26.
"The decision to implement the Covid passport has been made to generate safer spaces free of unvaccinated people and to convince those people to take the responsible step that nine out of ten people in the region have already taken," explained Puig
He also warned that "unvaccinated people are 20 times more likely to end up in ICU", and although vaccination helps, "it does not stop transmission and it is much easier for the unvaccinated to spread the disease".
The region has experienced a significant upturn in new daily cases over the last two months with the 14-day cumulative incidence rate reaching 150 cases per 100,000 people.
And whilst Puig assured the government is not currently looking at introducing further anti-Covid measures, if the situation worsens, "the interdepartmental commission will meet again to hear the recommendations of the health authorities".
More than 2.2 million Covid certificates have been issued in the Valencia region, with requests having doubled in a week as people rush to get themselves one ahead of the expected new regulations. One unseen consequence of this, though, is that unvaccinated people are, instead of going to protect themselves with a free vaccination, resorting to buying counterfeit Covid passports online.
Image: Archive
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