scotland will introduce vaccination passports nicola sturgeon wants proof of vaccination to be mandatory for entry to nightclubs festivals and football matches under new laws which come into force later this month
Scots will require vaccine passports to go to nightclubs, music concerts and festivals and Premiership fo0otball matches under new plans unveiled by Nicola Sturgeon today.
The First Minister wants Covid certification introduced later this month, telling the Scottish Parliament it was needed to help protect the country before the winter.
Under plans unveiled at Holyrood today, anyone going to nightclubs and other indoor events with more than 500 people attending unseated would have to prove they are double-jabbed.
The same would apply to outdoor events with more than 4,000 people unseated and any events with a capacity of more than 10,000.
It raises the prospect of people having to show they have been double-jabbed to attend Premiership football matches like the Old Firm derby. More than 49,000 people watched Rangers beat Celtic 1-0 at Ibrox on Sunday.
The proposed changes will be put to a vote at Holyrood next week and if approved would come into force at the end of the month.
However even the Greens, the SNP's power-sharing partners, voiced concerns, with health and social care spokeswoman Gillian Mackay saying it wanted 'assurances' the scheme would not discriminate against the disabled, ill or poor.
The First Minister wants Covid Certification introduced later this month, telling the Scottish parliament it was needed to help protect the country before the winter.
It raises the prospect of people having to show they have been double-jabbed to attend Premiership football matches like the Old Firm derby (pictured at the weekend).
The First Minister said the situation facing the country is now 'fragile and serious' because of the record numbers of new coronavirus cases and rising hospital admissions.
She said: 'The Scottish Government has made it clear that we do not believe that vaccination certification should ever be a requirement for any key services or in settings where people have no choice over attendance - for example, public transport, education, access to medical services or shops. We continue to hold to that position.
'But we do consider that a limited use of vaccine certification could help to control the spread of the virus, as we head into the autumn and winter.
'For any decision of this nature to have an impact before winter, we would have to take and implement it quickly.'
People who are fully vaccinated will be able to request a paper copy of their vaccination certificate or - from Friday - will be able to request a QR code to prove they have received both doses.
Ms Sturgeon said it would be 'grossly irresponsible' to rule out the reintroduction of restrictions or another lockdown amid the rise in coronavirus cases.
After setting out the latest figures for cases and hospital admissions, she told MSPs: 'The situation we face just now is fragile and serious. We must stem the rise in cases.
'Obviously, it would not be responsible for any government in the face of this virus - and the harm it can still do - to rule out reintroducing any restrictions. Indeed, it would be grossly irresponsible.
'However, we do not want to reimpose restrictions, even in a limited way. We know only too well how much harm restrictions cause to businesses, young people's education, and to our overall wellbeing.
'But if that is to be avoided - as I hope it can be - it will take all of us making a conscious and concerted effort again to comply with all the basic mitigations that we know can slow down transmission.'
Scotland has recorded nine deaths of coronavirus patients and 6,170 cases in the past 24 hours, according to the latest data.
Scottish Conservative Leader Douglas Ross said: 'After wasting months that could have been spent making proper preparations, the SNP Government is now introducing vaccine passports at the last minute.
Scottish Conservative Leader Douglas Ross said: 'After wasting months that could have been spent making proper preparations, the SNP Government is now introducing vaccine passports at the last minute.
'It's a striking U-turn from what John Swinney said last month, where he emphatically claimed vaccine passports were ''the wrong way'' to go.
'On the back of the confusion he caused over drinking in pubs, when he didn't know the rules around ''vertical drinking'', the Deputy First Minister regularly seems clueless about his own government's plans.
'We need businesses to get in-depth guidance around these certificates as soon as possible. They should be involved in the process and the government needs to clarify whether they will be expected to police these new rules.'
Figures published by the Scottish Government indicate the death toll under the daily measure - of people who first tested positive for the virus within the previous 28 days - is 8,127.
The daily test positivity rate is 11.5 per cent, down from 14.9 per cent the previous day.
A total of 629 people were in hospital on Tuesday with recently confirmed Covid-19, up by 44 on the previous day, with 59 patients in intensive care, up five.
So far, 4,108,804 people have received the first dose of a Covid-19 vaccination and 3,691,066 have had their second.
Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar said: 'If vaccine passports are to be introduced, we need the SNP to be willing to work with and support our hard-hit hospitality sector.
'More restrictions cannot be a fall-back for the failures of this SNP government. Winter is looming and the government has lost control.
'The government clearly has no strategy, it's tools are not working and they have lost control of the virus.
We need a proper strategy to tackle this pandemic, not more knee-jerk reactions and short-term thinking.'