Date Published: 10/06/2021
ARCHIVED - Up to 1,752 tourists have already entered Spain with new Digital Covid Certificate
ARCHIVED ARTICLE The Covid ‘passport’ or certificate provides proof of vaccination, or proof that the holder has recovered from the virus or has had a negative Covid test
The Health authorities in Spain announced on Thursday that the new European Digital Covid Certificate has been logged 1,752 times on the mobile app ‘Spain Travel Health’ by passengers entering the country when completing their contact tracing documentation as they entered the country.
The document, which can be in digital or physical formats, has three variations, one certificate will act as proof that the holder has had a Covid vaccine, while two other certificates are also available to prove that the holder has recently recovered from the virus or has had a negative Covid test in the hours leading up to the flight.
Furthermore, the certificate includes personal information (name, date of birth, country of issue) and Covid information, such as the date and time of the negative Covid test or the type of vaccine, which will be provided both in English and in the language of the issuing country.
Despite the July release date, the European Justice Commissioner has advised other countries to begin implementing the certificate as soon as possible to avoid a big ‘bang’ in July, when everyone will want the document at once.
The EU has also made it clear that the certificate is in no way to be used as a passport or travel document, and the right to free travel within the European Union applies to all citizens, whether they have this certificate or not.
All twenty-seven countries in the EU have agreed to not impose any further restrictions on travellers who are in possession of the Covid Certificate, meaning that they won’t have to quarantine or take additional Covid tests.
However, national governments reserve the right to impose emergency restrictions in extreme cases, such as when the person is travelling from a high-risk area or an area where a new variant has been detected.
These emergency restrictions must comply with scientific criteria and the epidemiological data from the ECDC (European Centre for Disease Prevention), and the local government must also give prior notice to the European Commission, as well as to the other members of the EU and the general population.
Spain opened its borders to non-EU travellers on Monday, who can enter Spain providing they can prove they are fully vaccinated.