Govt to roll out ID-linked COVID-19 passports to curb fake certificates

To combat the spate of fake COVID-19 certificates, the government has announced that it will soon be introducing National ID linked COVID-19 passports. This was revealed by the director of Health Informatics and Data Analytics in the Ministry of Health Dr Simukai Zizhou.

“This new card will have security features which can then be easily scanned and verified. The ministry has all the records of people that have been vaccinated thus it will be simple for authorities to verify this, further it will be linked to the individual’s passports and identity documents which were captured during the exercise. The card will have a QR code which is now the international best practice in terms of verification of information. Further, this card will close the loophole of the fake certificates that were now in the market.”

via The Sunday News

The roll-out of the COVID-19 passports is set to begin next week as there are a few niggles yet to be addressed. Dr Zizhou also said that those who have received their second dose of the COVID vaccine and need to travel to nations that require proof of vaccination on entry should come to the Ministry of Health so they can collect the new cards.

The govt staying in step with the times

This is a welcome development because most countries have been scrambling to get something like this up and running. The European Union for one debuted a COVID-19 passport prototype and is looking to get it out.

The idea of a COVID-19 passport has however come under some scrutiny. A petition submitted to the British House of Commons with more than 300 000 signatures says:

“We want the Government to commit to not rolling out any e-vaccination status/immunity passport to the British public. Such passports could be used to restrict the rights of people who have refused a Covid-19 vaccine, which would be unacceptable.”

UK Government and Parliament

The British government responded to this by saying that the COVID-19 immunity status certificates could play a key role in reopening the economy as well as the lowering of social distancing restrictions.