A Facebook post alleging that the UK government has secretly asked pubs and restaurants to sign documents confirming that they will distribute passports for COVID-19 vaccines online. The status also claims that the government waits seven weeks before locking up to return the documents. However, there is no evidence to substantiate this.
The claim was made in a screenshot on February 26 and shared more than 180 times and read: ‘A friend of mine owns a restaurant and the government wrote to them asking them to sign a document that they would not. do not allow. there, unless they have a Covid passport, the government waits another 7 weeks to let everyone out so they can get these documents back. ‘(here)
The post appears elsewhere with similar wording, suggesting that it’s probably a copy-and-paste status shared via Facebook groups and closed messaging apps (here, here and here), as well as on Twitter (here and here).
However, there is no evidence of the ‘letters’ or ‘documents’ mentioned in the social media posts, nor has any media been reported on this move, which would be expected if it were to take place.
A spokesman for the government’s Department of Health and Social Care said: ‘Our position on [Covid passports] is set out in the road map.
“The government will investigate whether COVID certification can play a role in reopening our economy, limiting social contact and improving safety.”
The ‘roadmap’ explains that the government will consider to what extent vaccine passports will be effective, together with ‘the ethics, equality, privacy, legal and operational aspects of this approach and what limits, if any, should be placed on organizations using certification ‘(here).
Reuters reported on February 22 that Michael Gove will lead the review (here).
However, the debate continues. Some ministers have voiced support for passports, including British Finance Minister Rishi Sunak, who said on 28 February that they could allow people to enter venues or events and help the country’s economy recover from the coronavirus pandemic (here) .
However, UKHospitality chief executive Kate Nicholls said vaccine passports “are likely to lead to headaches, put an extra burden on staff and cut unnecessary revenue at a time when businesses can not afford it”, according to ITV news on February 24th. (here).
Wetherspoon founder and chairman Tim Martin insists pubs and restaurants should open earlier than the roadmap allows as COVID-safe environments, according to the Independent and Sky News (here and here).
VERDICT
Untrue. There is no evidence that the UK government has sent letters to pubs and restaurants asking for signatures confirming the use of COVID-19 vaccine passports.
This article was produced by the Reuters Fact Check team. Read more about our fact-checking work here.