Prognosis

Freedom Passes Show How a City’s Trial Could Unlock the U.K.

  • Public health experts using Liverpool pilot to draw up plans
  • PM Johnson says mass testing key to re-opening the economy
Photographer: Jason Alden/Bloomberg
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People who test negative for coronavirus could get a five-day freedom pass to attend big events or access public buildings, under plans being considered by public health experts running a trial program in England.

The idea is underpinned by rapid turnaround tests, which are being used in the northwest city of Liverpool to identify people carrying Covid-19 but without symptoms. More than 160,000 of the tests have been carried out in the voluntary program, and the next stage is to use the kits to enable a “smarter, safer” re-opening of the city, said Iain Buchan, an academic involved in running the project.