The British Government is considering issuing “Freedom Passes” to citizens who can test negative for COVID-19 twice a week.
The British Government is considering issuing "Freedom Passes" to citizens who can test negative for COVID-19 twice a week.
This effort by government officials could allow Britons to return to ordinary life as soon as possible while staying sure to mitigate the spread of the virus.
If citizens are tested regularly and results for the virus come back negative, then a certificate or document, stored on a phone, would be given to them so they can freely move around, according to officials, the Daily Mail reports.
The pass would even exempt people from needing to social distance and wear a mask, according to the Telegraph.
"They will allow someone to wander down the streets, and if someone else asks why they are not wearing a mask, they can show the card, letter or an App," a source told the Telegraph.
Former health secretary Jeremy Hunt supported the idea, though a version with less frequent testing, only requiring "Freedom Pass" recipients to be tested monthly, according to the Daily Mail. He has urged ministers to develop "proper incentives" for people to social distance, get tested and receive the vaccine.
Hunt wrote in The Sunday Times that Britain "should go further" to encourage people to be tested.
"In Slovakia they gave those with negative results a certificate that released them from curfew and allowed them to go out, shop, and go to work," he wrote.
"This meant 97 per cent of the eligible population was tested," he continues.
"We should do the same in the UK, using the NHS Covid-19 app to record who has been tested and who has received the vaccine."
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