UK Pushing Covid-Free Wristbands And Certificates To Encourage Testing

People who test negative for coronavirus should be given certificates or wristbands to show they are free of the disease and allowed to return to more normal life, U.K. government advisers suggested in a report on mass Covid testing. Giving incentives will be a powerful way to encourage more take-up of mass testing in England, while the British Royal Family could act as “trusted messengers” in a campaign to persuade people to get tested, the research team said.

The recommendations come from the Behavioural Insights Team (BIT), a U.K. government-backed company often known as the “Nudge Unit,” which uses behavioral psychology to change people’s actions and is helping to shape the government’s pandemic strategy. In a new study, the BIT said Boris Johnson’s government should learn lessons from Slovakia as it seeks to develop a mass coronavirus testing program in England, which began with a pilot project in the northwestern city of Liverpool last week.

In Slovakia, some 3.6 million people were tested for Covid-19 in a single weekend -- 97% of the population aged between 10 and 65 -- in a bid to identify as many positive cases as possible and take them out of circulation. -Full Report

Top UK Politician: Workplaces, Social Venues, May Ban Britons Without Vaccination Certificates