In a first, Denmark to develop digital coronavirus passport
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According to the country’s Finance Ministry, the passport would allow Danes to document that they have been vaccinated against Covid-19 for business and other trips abroad
In a bid to reopen society, Denmark announced on Wednesday it plans to develop a digital coronavirus passport to allow foreign travel.
According to the country’s Finance Ministry, the passport would allow Danes to document that they have been vaccinated against Covid-19 for business and other trips abroad.
The representatives of the confederation of Danish Industry, the Danish Chamber of Commerce and the cultural sector have been invited to be a part of the project.
Under the plan, people would be able to log on to a website and check their Covid-19 immunization status from February end. The development of a digital passport and an app is likely to take another three to four months.
For several months, it has been possible for Danes to display and print a document stating that they have recently tested negative for the virus. "It is absolutely crucial for us to be able to restart Danish society and that companies can get back on track. Many Danish companies are global companies," said Morten Bodskov, the country's acting finance minister.
"This is light at the end of the tunnel for very many companies," said the head of the Danish Chamber of Commerce, Brian Mikkelsen.
The passport would be used by people wishing to visit restaurants, conferences, music festivals and sports events. Many sections of Danish society remain closed until February 28, although pharmacies, grocery stores and supermarkets are still open. Bars, cafes and restaurants across the whole country are limited to takeaway orders. Till January 29, about 184,000 people in the country of 5.8 million have received their first vaccination dose.
Danish disease authorities said on Wednesday that the country saw a rise in the share of coronavirus cases containing a more contagious variant, despite seeing general infection numbers drop.
From several thousands of daily Covid-19 infections in December, only 425 cases have been registered in the last 24 hours out of more than 110,377 tested, according to SSI, meaning only 0.38% tested positive.