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Fully vaccinated? Now you can apply for the 'vaccine passport'

Traveller holding passport, mask, boarding pass, map, with hand on luggage trolley in airport; removing trolley from a row of parked trolleys. Travel essential concept; reopening. Selective focus.

Design of the Globe is created in illustrator, using map from:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Worldmap_location_NED_50m.svg
A sorely missed sight. (Photo: Gettyimages)

SINGAPORE - Around 60% of Singapore's population has been vaccinated as at 1 August, as we inch towards achieving our vaccination goal of 67% by National Day on 9 August 2021. On an international scale, 14.7% of the worldwide population are fully vaccinated as at 31 July, while more than a quarter have at least had their first shot.

There is hope, tentatively, that leisure travel could make a comeback soon (just please, don't call it a bubble anymore.) For those who are fully vaccinated, you can now head over to Notarise, a Singapore agency website, to get your HealthCerts. This document may be known as either a Pre-Departure Test (“PDT”) HealthCert or Vaccination HealthCert, and it should be authenticated and endorsed by the Ministry of Health for one to travel.

In short, vaccination passport!

What is Notarise?

Your (probable) unassuming gateway to the world. (Photo: Screenshot from notarise.gov.sg)
Your (probable) unassuming gateway to the world. (Photo: Screenshot from notarise.gov.sg)

This portal allows you to upload required document so that you can get a certificate that will allow you to travel. The certificate, called a HealthCert, is designed to be easily shared in order to facilitate inspection and verification by relevant local and overseas border authorities.

According to the website, the authorities are actively engaging international counterparts and monitoring global developments on the development and recognition of digital certificates for travel purposes as part of ongoing efforts to reopen the economy and enable cross-border travel.

Here's how it works

Select a type of document, perform a verification, fill the form and submit. (Photo: Screenshot from notarise.gov.sg)
Select a type of document, perform a verification, fill the form and submit. (Photo: Screenshot from notarise.gov.sg)

A Pre-Departure test certification or vaccination certificate must be uploaded on the Government's Notarise website (http://www.notarise.gov.sg). You may do so by logging in via Singpass on the Notarise website. Upon submission, your application will be processed, and a response containing a QR code will be sent to your designated email address within 15 minutes.

Where do I take this HealthCert?

You may present your HealthCert either as

  1. A softcopy QR image from your mobile device

  2. A hardcopy printout, with the QR image clearly displayed

This QR code can be scanned by airlines and immigration personnels from the arrival country or region. Airline and immigration officials can scan the QR code to check the authenticity of the PDT certificate using a tool called Verify, developed by technology agency GovTech.

An important thing to note is that the use of these digital certificates is subject to the prevailing entry requirements of the destination country.

Louder, for those at the back, this means that if the destination country does not allow entry into it, the HealthCert is not a magical document that will grant you entry regardless.

While it may be too early to plan that much-needed getaway, what we can be grateful for is this efficient system in place that could get us into the air when we need to, be it for business or leisure, as soon as it's safe enough.

For more information about getting your Vaccination HealthCerts, visit https://www.notarise.gov.sg/faq

Get more coronavirus updates here.

Source:

Hannah Ritchie, Esteban Ortiz-Ospina, Diana Beltekian, Edouard Mathieu, Joe Hasell, Bobbie Macdonald, Charlie Giattino, Cameron Appel, Lucas Rodés-Guirao and Max Roser (2020) - "Coronavirus Pandemic (COVID-19)". Published online at OurWorldInData.org. Retrieved from: 'https://ourworldindata.org/coronavirus' [Online Resource]