In the Netherlands, where new rules will require a covid pass to eat inside in restaurants, a minister has stressed there will be no going indoors even to use the toilet without being jabbed.
Measures about to be brought in were hotly debated by MPs who forced an exception to the vaccine passport rule for punters eating or drinking outdoors – saying the infection risk was low.
But today health minister Huge de Jonge was quoted saying ‘if you want to use the restroom you will have to show your QR code.’
QR codes are the machine-readable array of black and white squares on a mobile phone.
If scanned, the pass showed proof of vaccination, recovery from the virus or a negative test and is required for all people aged 13 and older.
Last week, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said it was unwise to make an exception for patrons sitting outside, as people would inevitably have to enter to pay bills or indeed go to the toilet.
“It could also start raining and then everyone wants to go inside,” Rutte said.
“The government wanted the QR code everywhere in the hospitality sector,” Health ministry spokeswoman Rinske Wieman told AFP.
“This is not to bug people, but because people want more freedom from restrictions. Unfortunately these freedoms are not without boundaries,” she said.