Covid access pass will only return if it is effective at the time, Health Min says

The coronavirus access pass will only return if it is an effective measure at the time, Minister Ernst Kuipers of Public Health said in response to demands from the ChristenUnie to remove the use of the access pass from the law. The Minister does not want to go that far, NOS reports.

"It is something you have to be very cautious about, and I don't see it coming back just like that," Kuipers said in a debate on the extension of the coronavirus law on Monday evening. "But I cannot rule out the possibility that it can still be used to keep society as open as possible." 

The use of the coronavirus access pass, which allows access to events and other large gatherings to people vaccinated against, recovered from, or tested negative for Covid-19, is regulated in the temporary coronavirus law. This law has been extended five times, with parliament debating the extension after the fact. Monday's debate focused on the extension from March 1 to June 1. The Cabinet already announced a sixth extension. 

ChristenUnie parliamentarian Mirjam Bikker called keeping the coronavirus access pass in the "toolbox just in case" disproportionate at this time. "The coronavirus access pass now does not contribute to the protection of health and safety of the vulnerable," Bikker said, pointing out that access passes are currently not required anywhere in the Netherlands. 

If the ChristenUnie sticks to its conviction to scrap the coronavirus access pass from the law, there is a solid chance that the Cabinet will soon lose majority support for the pass in parliament. The measure has been controversial from the start. According to opponents, it is not effective, and it promotes dichotomy in society.