Cristina Hodgson
THE Health authorities in Spain have announced that the new European Digital Covid Certificate has been registered 1,752 times on the ‘Spain Travel Health’ app.
The new European Digital COVID-19 Certificate is a pandemic health control form, available in both digital or physical formats, and must be completed by all travellers arriving in Spain before starting their trip.
The certificate includes personal information (name, date of birth, country of issue) and COVID-19 information, such as proof of a negative COVID-19 test, type of vaccine or a COVID-19 recovery certificate—provided both in English and in the language of the issuing country.
Since Spain opened its borders to travellers from the EU or third countries on Monday, an average of 438 people per day have entered Spain from abroad.
According to the Secretary-General for Digital Health, Information and Innovation of the National Health System, Alfredo Gonzalez, the use of this app is expected to increase ‘exponentially’ especially after it’s official launch in the EU on July 1.
Gonzalez, who has praised the benefits of this certificate, has said: “The document could not be more satisfactory for our country and for our strategic interests of safe mobility and public health. It allows us to move towards normality, guaranteeing the protection of all citizens and safe mobility.”
That said, the EU institutions have made it clear that the EU COVID-19 certificate will neither serve as a travel document nor become a precondition to exercise the right to free movement, which applies to all Europeans whether or not they have the new European COVID-19 document.
Spain is just one of several other EU countries to have put the new COVID-19 Digital Certificate in motion early—some 20 days before its official launch.
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