The recent commons vote on upgraded Covid protection measures is going to impact directly on the use of the Sapphire and other sports and events venues in the UK.
On top of the requirement to wear a face covering at all times we are now obliged, by law, to ensure that all that enter the rink have the appropriate history in terms of vaccination and recent negative tests.
The simplest way of demonstrating this is by getting an NHS Digital Covid Pass. This can be obtained on the following site.
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/get-digital-covid-pass/
This site explains that you can use an existing NHS App to get the pass or use the dedicated Covid Pass service.
It is likely that a large number of fans have already obtained a Covid Pass or the NHS App and it is suggested that you familiarise yourself with it in advance of Sunday’s game (19th December), especially the process of obtaining an updated pass and storing the QR code generated.
With the Covid Passport these do need to be refreshed on the App from time to time. Generally passes last one month from the last update applied.
So for entry to the Sapphire to watch the game on Sunday 19th all fans and volunteers need to have an up to date Covid passport which will be scanned before tickets are issued.
To make the process simpler it will help if any fans that have purchased multiple tickets present themselves and all the intended ticket holders to be scanned at the same time so their Covid passes can be checked first. In previous circumstances the purchaser could collect all the wrist bands and simply hand them to the recipients when they arrive at the rink. This clearly will not be possible where each person needs their Covid Passport checked before they are allowed to apply their wrist band.
And of course it will greatly speed up the process if fans can have their Covid Passport available on approaching our scanner. The pass can normally be uploaded into your “wallet” which will speed up the process.
Thanks for working with us and helping to ensure that the Sapphire can remain open for our games.
Please note that the NHS App also allows you to upload the result of your Lateral Flow tests. These can also be scanned and allow entry in situations where you have not been vaccinated
