Switzerland on June 1 announced that it would implement the Covid-19 certificate system under the Federal Office of Information Technology, Systems and telecommunication (FOITT) solution, and it will come to force June 7 onwards.
During the initial phase, Swiss Cantons will be issued with digital certificates slowly, reported SchengenVisaInfo.
Seven European countries, including Bulgaria, Denmark, Germany, and Croatia, have already brought the Covid-19 passport into effect since June 1. Other nations are also planning to launch the certificate system followed by the European Union (EU) once all functions are operational and recognised widely.
As a verification tool, the gateway will operate for the Covid-19 passport issued by the EU to revive the tourism industry by the end of this month. 22 countries have successfully tried and tested the Covid-19 passport gateway since May 10.
As Switzerland is set to provide high-level security, its system will be subjected to a comprehensive mass security test than the National Cyber Security Centre’s (NCSC) security analysis. In addition, the public security experts and related authorities will test the security system.
NCSC has been collecting test result since May 31, estimating the contents and making the required adjustments depending on the FOITT development team recommendation.
The Swiss government has already started easing travel restrictions by scraping the entry quarantine requirement for inoculated people and Covid-19 recovered people for the next six months.
This alteration applies only to people who have been inoculated with one of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) ‘s Covid vaccines, such as Pfizer, Mederna, AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson. On the other hand, people from high-risk countries like Japan and India will not be eligible to opt for the restriction-free entry option, even if they received both jabs.
However, a press release issued by EMA in April clarified that people who have been vaccinated with EMA’s authorised vaccines and have recovered or tested negative for Covid-19 could apply for the Covid-19 travel passport. The certificates will be issued either on paper or smartphones.
“The certificate must be issued at the place where the individual has been tested or inoculated,” the press release elaborated. “Data on vaccination, recovery and test status will be kept only at that place and by the person concerned.”
