Q&A: Here's what you need to know about the Covid passport

Many countries hope the digital green cert will allow the resumption of mass international travel. File Picture: Cork Airport

European states have signed off on a digital green cert, or Covid passport, which will allow for safe and free movement during the pandemic. 

It has been indicated that the green cert, which would show if a person been vaccinated against Covid-19, has received a negative test result or has recovered from Covid-19, will allow for the return of EU tourism.

European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen has also said that it could be ready to roll out the green pass system by June.

Which information will the digital green certificate include?

The EU Commission has said the Covid passport will only contain necessary key information such as name, date of birth, the issuing member state and a unique identifier of the certificate. In addition:

• If a person has been fully vaccinated, it would provide details of the vaccine product and manufacturer, the number of doses a person has had, and the date of vaccination;
• For those who have tested negative for Covid-19, details relating to the type of test, date of test, and the test centre would be provided.
• If a person has recovered from Covid-19, the pass would give the date of their positive test result and other details about infection.

What about my personal data?

Given that the certificates will include sensitive medical information, the EU Commission has stressed that a very high level of data protection will be ensured.

The certificates will only include a limited set of information that is necessary and this cannot be retained by the countries a person visits. For verification purposes, only the validity and authenticity of the certificate is checked, by verifying who issued and signed it. All health data remains with the member state that issued the certificate.

The Commission has also said that the new green pass system will not require the setting up and maintenance of a database of health certificates at EU level.

When are we likely to see the rollout of the green cert?

While the EU Commission is hopeful that the system could be in place as early as June, it is up to each member state to decide when they will sign up to it. The Government has already stated that June would be too soon to allow a return to non-essential travel and foreign travel.

However, ministers have indicated that international travel could resume before the end of the summer.

Speaking earlier this week, Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Coveney said: "I do think over the summer months we will see a gradual change in relation to the approach on international travel but I certainly wouldn’t be advising anybody to be booking holidays. That’s very much contrary to the current advice.

"I think that is still some way off but certainly that is where this is going in terms of facilitating international travel at some point in the future."

What do other countries think?

The idea has been welcomed by countries such as Greece and Spain, which heavily rely on tourism.

Greece and Cyprus have already signed a bi-lateral travel deal with Israel.

However, the French Government has said it is too early to discuss a green cert.