Nicola Sturgeon has said the vaccine passports are important in Scotland’s battle against Covid-19 but admitted that they are simply part of a host of solutions to tackle the virus and keep the economy open.
The First Minister admitted that whilst the passports weren’t a single solution, they had a role to play as part of a series of measures aimed at keeping the economy open throughout the winter.
Speaking to Good Morning Britain, she discussed her party kickstarting independence but also the ongoing moves from the Scottish Government against the Covid-19 crisis.
She said: “In terms of the situation in Scotland right now, it's a really difficult challenging situation
'I think it can be part of a package of measures that allows us to contain Covid over the winter.'
— Good Morning Britain (@GMB) September 10, 2021
First Minister of Scotland @NicolaSturgeon talks to @MartinSLewis and @kategarraway about the high number of Covid cases and the introduction of Covid passports. pic.twitter.com/LlcBwm3ehA
“We have had a steep rise in the number of cases.
“At the start of July we had the highest case rates in the UK, we then came down to have the lowest for the remainder of July into August.
“What then happened was Scotland’s schools went back, our schools go back a lot earlier than elsewhere in the UK and we had a step rise again. We think it is starting to level off but we are not complacent about that.
“In terms of vaccine passports, do I think it's a solution? I don’t think there is any one single solution to this but I think it could be part of a package of measures that allow us to contain Covid over the winter while keeping the economy open which is what we all want to do.
“Can any leader being responsible and frank about things rule anything out in the face of this? I don’t think they should. This is an infectious virus. What has happened over the last few months is we had a massive game-changer in a positive way in the form of vaccines, but we have an equally massive game-changer in a very negative way in the form of the Delta variant which is so much more transmissible.
“This is a really difficult time for governments and countries everywhere, the pressure on our NHS, and we are seeing this right across the UK right now, is intense. We have just spent a long time talking about independence, and I am not complaining about that, but my principle focus right now is on continuing to do whatever is necessary regardless of what is popular or not to try and get the country through as safely as possible.”
Host Martin Lewis also asked the First Minister to define a nightclub is in Scotland.
.@MartinSLewis asks the First Minister of Scotland to clarify the definition of what a nightclub will be amid concern about the impact vaccine passports could have on some businesses.
— Good Morning Britain (@GMB) September 10, 2021
Watch GMB on ITV and on the ITV Hub 👉 https://t.co/6iQ6ebeOEQ pic.twitter.com/IOu2Tk9oI6
The First Minister responded saying: “I think most people know instinctively what a nightclub is but we will finalise the exact definition of this over the coming days. What we don’t want to do is have unintended consequences and market distortion. Most people know what a nightclub is but there are some pubs who might operate quite like a nightclub and therefore might get an advantage if vaccine passports are required in one setting and not the other.
“We are doing some work with the sector to make sure that we get that definition right and we will set it out well in advance of the scheme coming in.
“I don't think anyone wants vaccine passports, nobody wants to be in this pandemic at all, but we know that vaccinations reduce transmission and therefore I think they have a part to play in trying to keep us safe from Covid without facing possible closures of part of the economy again and thats why I think they are worth having as part of our package of responses.”
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel