First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has confirmed a coronavirus status app will become available to the public on Thursday, bringing Scotland into line with other parts of the UK.
The app will provide users with a digital record of their vaccination status, including a QR code for each vaccine dose they have received, to help with the implementation of the upcoming Covid passport scheme for late-night venues and large events.
The SNP leader also announced the Scottish Government would delay the enforcement of the certification system, giving businesses a “grace period” after the law comes into force.
The scheme will apply to “late-night venues open after midnight with alcohol, music and dancing, to live indoor unseated events of more than 500 people, to live outdoor unseated events of more than 4,000 people, and to any event of more than 10,000 people”.
Anyone over the age of 18 wishing to gain access to places falling under those descriptions will need to provide evidence that they are fully vaccinated or exempt.
Enforcement delay
In the changed approach, businesses will be given more than two weeks to “operationalise and test their arrangements in practice”, with the legal obligation coming into force at 5am on Friday but no enforcement until October 18.
Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross said the altered plans show the first minister had “botched” the scheme and called for the government to “cut its losses on this shambles of a scheme and scrap it altogether”.
He said: “It’s typical that the SNP has ignored warning after warning from businesses for weeks – but only now does Nicola Sturgeon admit she’s botched this scheme.
“Just days before this policy comes into force, the goalposts have shifted. This last-minute partial climbdown reveals just how chaotic the setup of this scheme has been.
“It will only add to the confusion that a scheme that is legally in force won’t actually be enforced.”
UKHospitality Scotland Executive Director Leon Thompson said: “Today’s news that the Scottish Government will delay enforcement is welcome.
“Acknowledging the concerns of business, raised by UKHospitality Scotland and others, gives late-night businesses time to test and adapt their processes.
“However, the reality is that the Scottish Government is not ready to introduce this scheme. With no published regulations or guidance, businesses are working in the dark with little chance of being ready for Friday.
“Similarly, there has been no public campaign to advise people on what they need to do, with the app for downloading certification only available from this Thursday.”
Funds to improve ventilation
A new £25 million fund to help small and medium businesses improve their ventilation was also announced in today’s statement.
The move was recommended by an expert advisory group led by Prof Tim Sharpe from the University of Strathclyde, which was formed last month to investigate the impact of enhanced ventilation on virus transmission.
Ms Sturgeon said: “As we step away from other mitigations, improved ventilation will play a significant role in reducing transmission indoors, support the sustained opening of society and contribute to our wider Covid recovery.
“The package will initially target higher risk sectors where people spend significant amounts of time in close proximity to each other, such as hospitality and leisure, and will make indoor settings safer, especially through the winter months.”
Mr Thompson, of UKHospitality Scotland, commented: “Hospitality businesses continue to work hard and invest in safe venues for customers and staff.
“This funding for improved ventilation is welcome and UKHospitality looks forward to learning more about it.”
The first minister also said from October 4 the blanket requirement for pre-departure tests will be removed for people who are fully vaccinated and under-18s returning to Scotland from countries not on the red list.
Other travel rules will be brought into line with those in England, though Ms Sturgeon said the government was doing this with some “reluctance”.
What is the context for the statement?
After a few weeks of rising case numbers and hospitalisations, both of these measures have been on a general downward trend.
Yesterday, there were 73 people with Covid being treated in intensive care, three fewer than the day before and the lowest figure since September 6.
There were 1,027 patients with coronavirus in Scottish hospitals more generally, 80 fewer than this time last week but four more than yesterday.
These figures show people admitted to hospital due to any reason, but Ms Sturgeon said Public Health Scotland will begin publishing statistics on people brought to hospital specifically because of Covid.
In the past 24 hours, there were 16 deaths of people who had recently tested positive for the virus.
While this metric has not been decreasing as clearly as case numbers or hospitalisations recently, the trend in deaths tends to follow those figures after a lag of some time.
Over the weekend, Scotland reached the milestone of 8 million total vaccines given out.
Ms Sturgeon said the declining case numbers were likely the result of “the increasing level of immunity, which is now relatively high in Scotland” due to vaccination and infection, as well as the efforts made by those working for Test and Protect.