COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) – The Danish government said on Wednesday that it is joining forces with businesses to develop a digital passport that will show whether people have been vaccinated against the coronavirus, enabling them to travel and the restrictions on to facilitate public life.
Minister of Finance Morten Boedskov said at a news conference that ” a digital corona passport in three, four months’ time is ready for use in, for example, business trips. ‘
‘It is extremely important for us to be able to restart Danish society so that businesses can get back on track. Many Danish companies are global companies with the whole world as a market, ”he added.
As a first step, citizens in Denmark would be able to see on the Danish health website the official confirmation before the end of February whether they have been vaccinated.
“It will be the extra passport you can have on your cell phone documenting that you have been vaccinated,” Boedskov said. “We can be one of the first in the world to have it and show it to the rest of the world.”
The coronavirus has experienced an almost total stalemate in international travel as countries try to limit the spread of the virus. Major European airlines, for example, fly a tenth of their normal traffic.
The presentation of the Danish government was done together with representatives of the most important business organizations, the Confederation of Danish Industries, which represents the largest companies in Denmark, and the Danish Chamber of Commerce.
Denmark, like the neighboring Nordic and Baltic countries, has in recent years moved to a completely digital system to reduce bureaucracy with online platforms that support electronic authentication and digital signatures to enable paperless communication in the private and public sectors.
The European Commission, meanwhile, is considering proposals to issue vaccination certificates to get travelers to their holiday destinations faster and avoid another disastrous summer for the European tourism sector. But the EU’s executive has said such certificates will so far only be used for medical purposes, for example to monitor the possible adverse effects of vaccines.
Some similar digital passports is developed to help travelers safely demonstrate compliance with the COVID-19 test requirements. One, called CommonPass, says it can also follow vaccinations.
Estonia said on Tuesday that passengers would allow the country with proof of COVID-19 vaccination to avoid quarantine requirements.
The Baltic country said the certificate must meet certain criteria, including information stating when the vaccine was made, what vaccine was used, the issuer of the vaccine and the number of the vaccine. 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 travel purposes other than reopening public life.