COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) – The Danish government said on Wednesday it was joining forces with companies to develop a digital passport to show if people had been vaccinated against coronavirus, allowing them to travel and help reduce restrictions on public life.
Finance Minister Morten Boedskov told a news conference that “in three to four months, a digital crown passport will be ready for use, for example, on business trips.”
“It is absolutely crucial for us to be able to restart Danish society so that companies can get back on track. Many Danish companies are global companies with a worldwide market as a market, ”he added.
As a first step, before the end of February, Danish citizens will be able to see official confirmation on a Danish health website that they have been vaccinated.
“It will be the additional passport you will be able to have on your mobile phone, which documents that you have been vaccinated,” Boedskov said. “We can be among the first in the world to have it and we can show it to the rest of the world.”
Coronavirus has seen an almost complete halt in international travel, while countries are trying to limit the spread of the virus. Large European airlines, for example, fly a tenth of normal traffic.
The presentation of the Danish government was made together with representatives of the main business organizations, the Confederation of Danish Industries, which represents the main companies in Denmark, and the Danish Chamber of Commerce.
Denmark, like the neighboring Nordic and Baltic countries, has in recent years moved towards a fully digital system to reduce bureaucracy with online platforms that support electronic authentication and digital signatures to enable paperless communications in both the private and non-private sectors. in the public one.
Meanwhile, the European Commission has weighed in on proposals to issue vaccination certificates to help travelers travel to their holiday destinations faster and avoid another disastrous summer for the European tourism sector. But the EU’s executive arm has said for the time being that such certificates will only be used for medical purposes, for example to monitor possible side effects of vaccines.
Some similar digital passports are developed to help passengers show that they have met the COVID-19 test requirements. One, called CommonPass, says it could follow up on vaccinations.
On Tuesday, Estonia said it would allow passengers arriving in the country with proof of COVID-19 vaccination to avoid quarantine requirements.
The Baltic State stated that the certificate must meet certain criteria, including information stating when the vaccine was given, which vaccine was used, the issuer of the vaccine and the batch number of vaccines. The certificate must be in Estonian, Russian or English.
The Danish government said it would later decide whether the digital passport should be used for purposes other than travel to help reopen public life.