‘Industry should lobby for new ‘coronavirus clear’ certificates’
Steve EndacottThe UK government has already ordered 3.5 million coronavirus self-test kits, to identify how many people have developed antibodies indicating immunity.
At the moment nobody can be 100% sure such immunity does exist, but all experts believe this is likely to be the case.
The government will need to support these tests with a formal and centralised registry which issues ‘coronavirus clear’ certificates, and this may require positive tests to be ratified by professionals such as teachers or qualified accountants – since medically trained staff are likely to remain fully deployed elsewhere.
These certificates will initially be vital for identifying the element of the population that has enough immunity to allow them back to work.
It is obviously vital to get the economy moving again, with most experts hopeful that this can occur after the peak of infections has passed and some semblance of control has returned to the NHS.
However, the travel industry needs to accept that opening borders for leisure travel is likely to remain a relatively low priority for most countries.
Some travel observers have predicted the opening of borders as soon as the peak has passed, as the closure does little to slow the spread of the disease at this stage, compared to the banning of mass gatherings or local gatherings in pubs.
I personally think there will be a much longer delay, as international governments are likely to insist on accredited ‘coronavirus clear’ certificates for foreign visitors before they will be allowed entry.
These certificates will be used in conjunction with passports, but are likely to be issued via electronic means, so they can be scanned from mobile phones.
They are also likely to form part of airlines’ internal systems, since they will be responsible for checking customers have the required paperwork before boarding.
Therefore the industry, via Abta and other trade bodies, needs to be lobbying hard to make sure they are included in any ‘coronavirus clear’ certificate planning.
This will allow airlines and travel companies time to adjust their systems during the quiet shutdown period, long before the first buds of travel start to blossom again.
I remain optimistic that the good times will return to travel, but feel that we need to take our destiny into our own hands and actively work on the removal of any potential barrier.
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Steve Endacott
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