Last update: August 26th, 2021.
The EU Digital COVID Certificate rollout started on June 1st, a month ahead of schedule. Portugal joined the program on June 16th, shortly after EU members like Belgium and Poland.
Over 6.5 million EUDCCs have been issued in Portugal since the launch. This means that 65% of the population has received an EUDCC at some point.
Portugal’s Prime Minister, António Costa, has called this “a great step towards a safe recovery” for both the EU and Portugal.
How does the EU Digital Covid Certificate work in Portugal?
The EUDCC will be generated through the SNS24 portal, contact center for Portugal’s national health service.
The website will provide a form to fill out with all the necessary information. Once completed, it will then provide an access code to download the certificate.
The certificate can be stored on one’s mobile device as a PDF. It can also be printed out and folded to be the size of a passport to be carried around in a wallet.
The certificate is used internationally for safe travel in and out of the EU.
Locally in Portugal, the EUDCC is used for access to certain public spaces, like restaurants on weekends and holidays or group classes in gyms.
The EUDCC is also used for access to indoor entertainment, like casinos and large weddings, or events of up to 500 people indoors or 1000 people outdoors.
What information is on the EU Digital COVID Certificate?
The certificate shows only crucial information such as the holder’s identity, date of birth, issuing member state, and the vaccine brand.
It is printed in both English and Portuguese and can be issued to:
- vaccinated citizens
- citizens who have received a negative a PCR test in the last 72 hours
- citizens who have recently recovered from the virus
The Directorate of General Health of Portugal guarantees that “personal data are included in the respective Certificate, in accordance with the provisions of the EU COVID Digital Certificate data protection regulation.”
Renowned Portuguese news agency Lusa, explains that “when the certificate is inspected, the QR code is digitized and the signature verified. Each issuing entity (for example hospital, testing center, or health authority) will have their own digital signature key – and all these keys are registered on a database in each country.”
COVID-19 health situation in Portugal
Portugal managed to keep COVID-19 under control for much of 2020 and saw their first major spike in cases by October. Their first wave decreased by nearly half before it spiked into the much deadlier second wave in January.
Portugal is currently in the midst of the third wave of COVID-19 due to the Delta variant, with around 2000 new cases per day in late August.
Portugal’s vaccine rollout is progressing very well and they have given out over 14,300,000 doses by late August. Over 72% of the population is now fully vaccinated, giving Portugal the highest vaccination rate in continental Europe.