Fuengirola café openly refuses to check COVID passports

One café in Fuengirola is openly refusing to check COVID passports, as they are unwilling to “restrict the freedom” of their customers.
“I have never asked for a COVID passport nor am I going to do it. The fact that they are vaccinated doesn’t mean they are not infected,” stated the owners of a café in Fuengirola to the newspaper Malaga Hoy, as they are unwilling to “restrict the freedom” of their customers. The Department of Health and Families requires that all those over 12 years of age must show their COVID passports in order to access bars and restaurants.
Natalia, one of the owners of El Pasaje, the establishment that has challenged the rule implemented on December 20, has been open about her refusal to check passports. She put a sign up stating that they “do not have the capacity or the time, let alone the right, to trample the freedom” of their customers.
“My husband and I believe that we do not have the right to ask for this type of documentation,” said the woman, who claims to have heard of various cases of fraud involving the COVID passport. “I know that some people use another person’s COVID passport and you need to ask for their I.D. card to confirm it’s really them. In the morning, when we’re completely full, do I stop to ask everybody one by one for the QR code, or do I have to hire someone else to do it?”
Natalia also went on to ask, “if someone goes to the bathroom without a mask and keeps a safe distance, who am I to tell them to put it on?” Her position does not appear to bother the customers, and some of them have even “congratulated” her for it. Most of them show no sign of interest in the passport.
In her opinion, many others who work in hospitality would agree with her, but they do not act in the same way because “they are scared of the fine”. Natalia knows that not complying with this preventative measure could result in a fine of between 100 and 600,000 euros. “They haven’t threatened me yet but if they do, I’ll make a complaint because it’s anti-constitutional. We can’t live in fear,” she said.
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