Covid certificates are issued in stages

The ordinance on the Covid certificate came into force on 7 June and corresponding certificates are being issued successively by the cantons. Vaccinated, recovered or tested persons should be able to obtain such a document in their respective canton by the end of June 2021, either in electronic or paper form, as promised by the Federal Council. 

Forgery-proof in a QR code

The system for issuing and verifying Covid certificates is created by the Federal Office of Information Technology, Systems and Telecommunication (FOITT), which reports to Federal Councillor Ueli Maurer's Department of Finance. According to information, the certificates are issued in both paper and electronic form. Both versions contain the certificate details in readable form as well as forgery-proof in a QR code, provided with an electronic signature of the Confederation, according to the statement. This allows secure verification of the certificate without personal data being transmitted or stored. 

Two apps

The cantons define which healthcare institutions may issue Covid certificates. They designate specialists (from vaccination centres, testing centres, hospitals, doctors' surgeries, pharmacies, etc.) as issuers who issue a certificate to vaccinated, recovered and negatively tested persons on request.

The federal government's system includes, among other things, a retention app that "COVID Certificate App", and a testing app that "COVID Certificate Check App". Both apps will be available free of charge in the official app stores of Google and Apple. In the "COVID Certificate" app, the Covid certificate can be carried and presented digitally. The Covid certificate in the app is said to be equivalent to the paper certificate. The "COVID Certificate Check" app can be used to check Covid certificates on paper or in the "COVID Certificate" app: In doing so, the person checking only sees the surname, first name, date of birth and validity of the Covid certificate, as the Confederation writes.

How long is the certificate valid?

The certificate is valid

• for vaccinated persons 180 days from administration of the last vaccine dose (see "Vaccine protects longer")
• for recovered persons, the validity starts from the 11th day after the positive test result and lasts for 180 days from the test result
• for persons tested negative: 72 hours from the time the sample was taken (PCR test) and, in the case of the rapid antigen test, 24 hours from the time the sample was taken 

Data protection and EU compatibility

The certificate system provided by the FOITT takes account of data protection concerns, according to the authority. Personal data would not be stored centrally by the federal administration. The personal data required for signing the certificate would be deleted from the federal government's system as soon as the certificate had been generated and transmitted. The Confederation's solution is also compatible with the system envisaged by the EU. "EU Digital COVID Certificate" compatible and allows mutual recognition of certificates.

First EU digital Covid certificates

Since a few days the EU interface (gateway) is in operation, with which the digital Covid certificates of the EU can be verified cross-border. Seven member states - Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Croatia and Poland - have announced that they will connect to the EU interface today and begin issuing EU certificates. The system is reported to be fully operational by 1 July.

Source: Confederation, rs

Vaccine protects longer

Virginie Masserey of the Federal Office of Public Health told the media on 15 June that the Covid 19 vaccine is protected for at least 12 months. After the certificate's validity period of 180 days has expired, it can be extended without the need for a new one. 

More info from the federal government:

• to the Covid certificate
• for travel within the EU 

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