Entrepreneurs: Keep Covid access passes as a last resort if situation deteriorates

Entrepreneurs want the coronavirus access pass to be kept “as a last resort” to keep businesses open should the virus flare up again. It's a distasteful measure, but companies must be able to operate, employers’ organizations VNO-NCW and MKB-Nederland said to NOS.

The coronavirus access pass (CTB) has been controversial from its conception. It allows access to certain events and places to certain people. Depending on which version is chosen, this could be people who tested negative for the coronavirus. Or people who got vaccinated against or recently recovered from the virus. The draft version of the new permanent coronavirus law omits the access pass completely.

But many entrepreneurs disagree with that. They want to prevent the economy from closing again if there is a new, severe coronavirus wave. “We would rather see the CTB not have to be used at all. But if companies were to close without the CTB, the CTB can be deployed as a last resort,” a spokesperson for the employers’ organizations said to the broadcaster.

The organizations said that entrepreneurs do their best to set up their companies in a “safe and responsible way” for customers and employees. The CTB can help with that, they said.