Newtown cinema boss bracing for 'heavy hit' from Covid pass

The vote to extend passes was won in the Senedd on Tuesday, November 9 by 39 in favour and 15 against.

The debate before the vote was pitched as an argument between personal liberties and the rights of government.

The passes will show that individuals are fully vaccinated or had a negative lateral flow test in the past 48 hours and are already in force for large events, such as the Autumn International rugby matches, and nightclubs.

But while their introduction has been welcomed, there are some concerns.

David-Peter Thacker, who owns The Regent Cinema in Newtown, said: “I don’t think the pass has been streamlined easily enough for use in Wales as it is in England, I tried doing mine the other night and thought halfway through I can’t be bothered with this, and we worry that will be the attitude of a lot of people.

“And we haven’t even talked about elderly customers who aren’t tech savvy how are they being helped to get a pass?

“We don’t think we will be hit as bad as last time as we actually have content to show this time around, but we are bracing ourselves for a heavy hit until more industries join us with the passes, and it is more widely the new normal.”

Mr Thacker said although the announcement was “inevitable” he also questioned why cinemas were a concern, adding: “Since the start of the pandemic there has been zero outbreaks linked to cinemas, so we are baffled with the decision since they have no evidence to back up their claim.”

However, Charlotte Spencer, marketing officer at Wyeside Arts Centre in Builth Wells, said the passes should put people’s minds at ease.

She said: “Wyeside welcomes and understands the need to introduce COVID passes in order to keep our customers, staff, volunteers and visiting artists safe.

“Prior to the vote from the Welsh Government we were getting customers to provide a negative lateral flow result prior to attendance for all live events. Having this enforced by law will hopefully improve public confidence to attend events and protect the arts sector.”

Health Minister Eluned Morgan

In the Senedd there were mixed views with Darren Millar MS, representing the Welsh Conservatives, saying the evidence was not there to support Covid passes reducing transmission or increasing the take up of vaccines.

He said it relied too much on self-certification and that “you could swab your dog”.

He said: “The Welsh Conservatives warned that the introduction of COVID passports in Wales would set a dangerous precedent, and it gives me no pleasure today to say that we were right.

“It’s just a few short weeks since the introduction of COVID passports here in Wales, and yet, in spite of no clear or credible evidence that they have an ability to stop the spread of coronavirus, we find ourselves today debating yet another proposal to extend their use beyond the large events and nighttime economy, now to cinemas, theatres and concert halls, and this is in spite of the fact that there’s no evidence to suggest that these venues are the hotbed of virus infection.

But Labour’s Joyce Watson said: “We are prepared to trust people to do the right thing.”

Earlier, during a Welsh Government briefing, Health Minister Eluned Morgan stressed that the passes are not covid passports.

One month on from their introduction, she said that the feedback has been positive.