More than half a million people who have had two coronavirus vaccines will still have to take a test to go into bars, restaurants and cinemas when new rules come into force on Friday.

Coronavirus access passes (CTB) will no longer be available for people who had their second dose more than nine months ago, while certificates proving recovery from a recent infection will expire after six months.

Under the Dutch ‘Test for Entry’ system anyone who does not qualify through vaccination will have to show proof of a negative antigen test taken in the last 24 hours.

The Outbreak Management Team advised the government last November to introduce a stricter 2G system, which would restrict access to people who had had a vaccine or recent infection, but a majority of MPs is against the idea.

Health minister Ernst Kuipers told parliament that around 540,000 people would be affected by the rule change.

He said the move ‘may lead to more people getting a booster vaccine’. At the moment there is no expiry date for booster vaccines.

The rules were brought in as part of plans to harmonise coronavirus rules for travel through the EU, but countries still apply widely varying ‘test for entry’ standards within their borders.