Filenews 20 June 2021 - byAdamos Adamou
Admittedly, travelling today is a difficult task because of the pandemic and the restrictions placed by governments. In 10 days' time, however, the European Digital Covid Certificate, which will come into force, aims to change the scene and facilitate travel, bringing back free movement in the EU.
The last milestone at European level for the implementation of the relevant regulation since 1 July was set last Monday, with its official signing ceremony, by the presidents of the three EU institutions, namely the European Parliament, the Council of the EU and the European Commission. The Covid digital certificate will be valid for 12 months, as decided, starting on 1 July 2021. The aim of the EU Digital COVID Certificate is to facilitate safe and free movement within the EU during the COVID-19 pandemic. As the Commission explains, all Europeans and all Europeans have the right to free movement, even without the certificate, but the certificate will facilitate such movements, excluding its holders from restrictions such as quarantine.
The COVID digital certificate will be accessible to all and all and:
• cover vaccination against COVID-19, testing for its detection (with PCR or Rapid test) and recovery from it
• will be free and available in all EU languages
• will be available in digital and print format
• will be secure and include a digitally signed QR code.
Member States shall not, under the Regulation, impose additional travel restrictions on holders of an Union digital COVID certificate, unless such restrictions are necessary and proportionate to ensure public health.
Schedules
On the basis of the timetables set for the implementation of the Regulation, this period (1-30 June) is the stage of... warm-up, since Member States may start the certificate on a voluntary basis, provided that they are ready to issue and verify certificates and have the necessary legal basis.
From 1 July, the EU's COVID digital certificate will be implemented across the EU. However, for a period of six weeks - from 1 July to 12 August - if a Member State is not yet ready to issue the new certificate to its citizens, other formats which should be accepted in other Member States may be used.
According to information provided by "F", Cyprus and the Ministry of Innovation are working feverishly to ensure that the portal created in our country is ready by 1 July. Through it, those who wish, especially those who will travel after 1 July and if they are beneficiaries (i.e. whether they are vaccinated, have been sick or will carry out tests) will be able to proceed with the issue of the COVID digital certificate. In this context, the Secretary of State's platform will draw data from Ministry of Health databases for those who have been vaccinated or sick, while it will also become a database for test subjects. Based on a specific website prepared by the EU, Cyprus appears to be technically ready to connect to the EUDCC platform, but still does not issue and/or verify at least one of the EUDCC certificates (vaccination, recovery, negative test).
How it will work
The aim of the digital certificate is for its holders to be essentially exempted from various restrictions currently in place in all EU countries, such as the imposition of quarantine and the obligation to subject travellers to diagnostic tests. This will be done through a common system for the recognition of certificates issued by each Member State. This, among other things, is expected to provide flexibility and speed in airport controls and thus less hassle for the passenger public.
In particular, on the basis of what is being promoted, Member States will not impose additional travel restrictions on holders of an Eu digital COVID certificate, unless they are necessary and proportionate to ensure public health. In this case, the Member State must inform the Commission and all the other Member States in good time and justify these new measures.
The EU DIGITAL COVID certificate will serve as proof of vaccination, examination and recovery, which can be used in all EU Member States. Each holder of an Union digital COVID certificate, when travelling, shall have the same rights as citizens of the Member State visited, who have been vaccinated, tested or recovered from COVID-19. In order to coordinate the actions of the Member States, the Commission has already proposed updating the Council Recommendation in order to lay down clear rules on the conditions for lifting travel restrictions for persons holding the Union digital COVID certificate.
Probably from July 15th Cyprus adapts
For the time being, however, there is no uniform approach to the issue and in essence each country is left to decide for itself which 'evidence' of the digital certificate will completely exclude their holders from diagnostic tests.
On the subject, as the 'F' is informed, a proposal will be forwarded to the Council of Ministers, probably from a week's time, in order to take final decisions.
Converging information, however, wants the country not to exempt holders of the covid digital certificate from the obligation to submit tests, based on the categorization of countries currently in force, provided that this is issued by the production of a rapid test. On the contrary, it will exclude from the possible need to submit to tests - depending on the category of each country - all other forms of the digital certificate, i.e. if it was issued as evidence of vaccination, as proof of recovery/disease and if it was issued after a PCR test.
Most importantly, in the Council of Ministers it will be decided when our country will start to "accept" digital certificates, since the period of "adaptation" of the Member States extends until 12 August.
Based on the information gathered by "F", it appears that the government is aiming to announce acceptance of digital certificates from 15 July. However, with regard to visits/arrivals to Cyprus, not much is expected to change with the application and acceptance of the digital covid certificate, since our country already excludes from quarantine and the obligation to submit to diagnostic tests those who have been vaccinated.
Normally CyprusFlightPass
In addition, Cyprus will continue to implement CyprusFlightPass, in which all those who arrive in Cyprus must apply - foreigners and locals - within 24 hours before the departure of their flight. CyprusFlightPass will continue for tracing purposes mainly, but also as a measure to protect public health, while sample flight checks will continue within the same framework.
Almost all countries apply similar 'boarding passes'. In view of this, as well as the way in which member states adopt the EU digital covid certificate, all passengers are invited to be informed by the EU reopen.europa.eu. Re-open EU provides information on the various measures applied, including quarantine and diagnostic testing requirements for travellers, the EU Digital COVID certificate, as well as mobile contact tracking and notification applications for the crown. The information is frequently updated and available in 24 languages.
Questions and useful answers for the COVID digital certificate
- What information will the UNION DIGITAL COVID certificate contain?
It will contain only the necessary information, such as name, date of birth, issuing authority of the certificate and a unique identifier. moreover:
· For the vaccination certificate: type and manufacturer of the vaccine, number of doses administered, date of vaccination;
· For the examination certificate: type of test, date and time of conduct, place and result;
· For the recovery certificate: date of positive test result, period of validity.
- Can the DIGITAL COVID certificate be issued after the first vaccination dose?
Certificates will be issued for each person vaccinated against COVID-19 in an EU Member State, regardless of the number of doses. The number of doses shall be clearly indicated on the Union digital COVID certificate to indicate whether the vaccination cycle has been completed.
In addition, the Regulation requires Member States to accept vaccination certificates under the same conditions, which means that, for example, when a Member State decides to lift travel restrictions for its citizens who have a certificate for the first dose of a two-dose vaccine authorised throughout the EU , it must do the same for other EU citizens.
On 31 May the Commission proposed that Member States lift travel restrictions for persons who have been fully vaccinated (no later than 14 days after the last dose) or who have recovered from COVID-19 and who hold the Union DIGITAL COVID certificate.
- I have recovered from COVID-19 and my state has decided to offer me only one dose of a two-dose vaccine. Will I be able to benefit from the COVID digital certificate?
States decide whether to administer a single dose of a two-dose vaccine to people who have recovered. In this case, the vaccination certificate should indicate that the vaccination cycle has been completed after one dose has been administered.
The Commission has proposed that people who have received a single dose of a two-dose vaccine and who have previously been infected with COVID-19 should be considered fully vaccinated when travelling.
- What form will the UNION DIGITAL COVID certificate take?
The Union DIGITAL COVID certificate will be available in digital format, for example in an application for smart phones, or as a form, depending on the preference of its holder. Certificates will contain a QR code with the necessary data, as well as a digital signature. The QR code is used to securely verify the authenticity, validity and integrity of the certificate. The information on the certificate shall appear in the language or languages of the issuing Member State and in English. In cooperation with The Member States, a common design model has been developed to facilitate the recognition of Union COVID certificates issued in paper form.
- Can children obtain an EU DIGITAL COVID certificate?
Yes, children can obtain an EU DIGITAL COVID certificate.
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) has given a green light to the use of the BioNTech Pfizer vaccine for children aged 12-15 years. Children can also obtain a certificate of examination or recovery. These certificates can also be obtained from their parents and stored in the app for parents' smart phones.
On 31 May the Commission proposed that minors travelling with their parents should be exempted from quarantine when parents do not need to be quarantined, for example due to vaccination. Children under 6 years of age should also be excluded from travel-related tests.
- Which COVID-19 test will be accepted?
In order to ensure the reliability of the test results, only the so-called NAT tests (including RT-PCR tests) and the quick antigen tests included in the common list drawn up on the basis of Council Recommendation 2021/C 24/01 should be eligible for the issue of an examination certificate under the Union Digital COVID Certificate Regulation.
However, it is up to each Member State to decide whether to quickly accept antigen tests or only NAAT tests (such as RT-PCR tests).
- Is there a minimum period of validity of licences?
On 31 May the Commission proposed updating the Council Recommendation on the coordination of travel measures, which includes standard validity periods for tests: 72 hours for PCR tests and, if accepted by the Member State concerned, 48 hours for quick antigen tests.
The Regulation also lays down a number of basic principles, for example by setting the maximum period of validity of the recovery certificate at 180 days. These principles may be adapted by the Commission on the basis of new scientific evidence. In any event, the Regulation shall ensure that certificates issued by other Member States are accepted in accordance with the same rules as certificates issued at national level.
There is no maximum validity for vaccination certificates, as this will depend on the scientific evidence that will emerge as to the length of time for which the various vaccines offer protection.
