Last update: June 9th, 2021.
The European Union recently launched its Digital COVID Certificate a month ahead of schedule.
The Czech Republic was one of the first nations to join this program on June 1st.
Along with Bulgaria, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Croatia, Poland, Spain and Lithuania, Czechia is paving the way for the Europe-wide vaccine passport rollout that will officially begin on July 1st.
What are the requirements for travelling to the Czech Republic?
The Health Minister, Adam Vojtěch, released a statement explaining what the next few weeks hold in store for the Czech Republic.
“We have made changes which will enable people from all EU member states to travel to the Czech Republic without restrictions from June 21. Of course, this is under the condition that those travelers fulfill the same rules that are now in place for the countries with which we currently have bilateral agreements”, said Vojtěch.
These bilateral agreements are known as travel bubbles, or travel corridors. Czechia has set them up in collaboration with Germany, Austria, Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia, and Croatia.
Citizens from these participating countries have been free to travel to Czechia since June 1st. Provided, of course, they have received their first dose of the vaccine.
Proof of recovery or a negative PCR or antigen test are also accepted as long as they fall within a given timeframe.
How does the EU Digital COVID Certificate work in the Czech Republic?
Starting July 1st, the country will only accept the official EU Digital COVID Certificate to enter the borders. This certificate will work as proof of vaccination, recovery, or negative test results.
A Czech COVID passport app was in development as a failsafe for the summer, in case the EU pass was not ready in time. But the early launch of the EU Digital COVID Certificate has eliminated the need for this.
Citizens should follow the portal on the Institute of Health Information and Statistics’ website to download their certificate.
Due to safety and privacy concerns, the certificate will only display basic information and will be verified by a QR code. It can be displayed in digital format or printed out and kept on your person.
Current Czech restrictions
The Czech COVID pass rollout has come with other restrictions being lifted, especially in the cultural sector.
Students and employees no longer need to get regularly tested, and mask mandates have been lifted in schools.
Open-air gatherings are now free of capacity restrictions and must simply adhere to social distancing principles.
Indoor events can also take place at a larger scale again. Beverages can once more be served at these events, as well as at movie theatres.
COVID-19 health situation in the Czech Republic
Czechia has suffered three devastating waves of COVID cases. Over 1,600,000 people have been infected and over 30,000 have died.
As the restrictions are being lifted, the country is also seeing its lowest infection rate since September 2020.
The vaccine rollout in Czechia has increased speedily since March 2021. Close to 1,920,000 doses have been administered according to Our World In Data. Over 14% of the Czech population has received the full vaccine.
Vaccine donations from Serbia and Hungary have aided in these positive numbers.