A WIDELY SHARED photo of a Lidl store in Germany has been falsely described as proof that customers must show their QR vaccination code to enter the supermarket.
The photo of the entrance of a supermarket in Germany is accompanied by a description stating: “QR checkpoint at Lidl. No QR code – no food.”
In addition, the social media user states: “In Germany right now, don’t think it’s not coming.”
While the posts themselves don’t mention Covid-19 vaccines, comments below from the original posters show that the QR codes they are referring to relate to proof of vaccination.
The post has been spread across many countries including Canada and Ireland. There were also multiple references to the ‘mark’ by commenters, who are referring to the mark of the beast as described in the New Testament’s Book of Revelation – an anti-vaccine trope (see more here).
The Journal contacted Lidl Ireland about the photo and the claim that QR codes may be used in Irish Lidl stores in the future so as to only allow fully vaccinated people to shop in the store.
A spokesperson for Lidl Ireland said: “I can confirm that there are absolutely no plans to do this in Ireland.”
Currently, the only restriction for entering a supermarket in Ireland is that a face covering must be worn. Some stores are also operating capacity limits at their own discretion.
Lidl Ireland also contacted their counterparts in Germany to investigate the claim that such a measure was being used there. The spokesperson said that the photo with its message is “fake news”.
They said that Lidl Germany confirmed that “they are not using nor do they plan to implement such a system”.
The two posters on the doors of the supermarket advertise free Internet, which is available in Lidl stores across Germany, and its Lidl Pay app which customers can use to pay for their goods – by scanning their phone.
“If customers want to pay with Lidl Pay, they have to confirm this briefly with their pin, fingerprint or Face ID before scanning the Lidl Plus app. At the end of the checkout process, the Lidl employee asks at the checkout whether the payment should be made with Lidl Pay,” the company explains.
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