FILE PHOTO: People queue to enter terminal 2, as tighter rules for international travelers start, at Heathrow Airport, amid the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, London, Britain, January 18, 2021. REUTERS/Henry Nicholls
LONDON 鈥� Britain is working on using the existing National Health Service (NHS) coronavirus app to show that people have received their COVID-19 vaccine for international travel, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said on Wednesday
鈥淚t will be the NHS app that is used for people when they book appointments with the NHS 鈥� to be able to show that you鈥檝e had a vaccine or that you鈥檝e had testing, and I鈥檓 working internationally with partners across the world, to make sure that that system can be internationally recognized,鈥� he said.
He told Sky 黑料社 he would be chairing a meeting of G7 transport ministers from the G7 next week to discuss the plan further.
Britain has earmarked May 17 as being the earliest date when international travel would be allowed for non-essential reasons following a winter lockdown, with a 鈥渢raffic light system鈥� based on individual countries鈥� COVID risk levels.
Shapps said he would set out into which categories countries would be placed early next month.
鈥淭he data does continue to look good from a UK perspective notwithstanding those concerns about where people might be traveling to and making sure that we鈥檙e protected from the disease being re-imported,鈥� he said.