The European Digital Certificate COVID was presented today here in Greek, at a joint press conference of the Minister of Transport, Communications and Works, Mr. Giannis Karousou, and the Deputy Minister of Research, Innovation and Digital Policy, Mr. Kyriakos Kokkinos, which will be in force as of tomorrow July 1st 2021.
We have unofficially translated the PIO announcement here in Greek awaiting for the official version when available.
The European Digital Certificate (COVID) is the digital proof that a person has been vaccinated against COVID – 19, or has been diagnosed and recovered from COVID – 19, or has been tested in a laboratory with a negative result. With cross-border validity in all Member States of the European Union (EU), as well as in Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein, the certificate aims to facilitate the safe and free movement of citizens in the EU during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The European Digital COVID Certificate can be issued in digital and printed form, while it is available in both Greek and English. It contains a QR code with a digital stamp that ensures its authenticity, which is verified by scanning the code. As Deputy Minister Kokkinos explained, through the pan-European portal developed by the European Commission, the signatures of certificates issued by Member States across the EU can be verified, while all health data remains the responsibility of the Member State that issued the certificate, thus ensuring the protection of citizens’ personal data.
Regarding Cyprus, the Certificate can be issued in the following 3 cases:
if you have been vaccinated (in one or two doses) and this has been registered in the relevant database of the Ministry of Health.
- if you have been laboratory-diagnosed with COVID-19 disease by molecular methodology (RT-PCR) and the result has been declared and registered in the relevant database of the Ministry of Health.
- if you have undergone COVID-19 laboratory test in the last 7 days with antigen rapid test method or with molecular methodology (RT-PCR) you have received a negative result and the result has been registered by the laboratory in the relevant database of the Ministry Health.
Citizens who intend to travel are encouraged to consult the Re-open EU website / application (reopen.europa.eu) or the national authorities of their country of destination for information on the country’s guidelines and travel instructions.
The European Digital COVID Certificate is issued in Greek and English through the platform www.eudcc.gov.cy. According to the Deputy Minister, for information and support in the process of issuing the certificate, citizens can contact the Covid-19 Service Center at 1474, while in case they can not obtain the certificate electronically, they can visit Citizen Service Centers (KEP) and Citizen Centers (KEPO), by appointment, for the issuance of their certificate.
The Minister of Transport, Mr. Giannis Karousos, invited the citizens who intend to travel immediately to visit the registration platform, while he urged those citizens who intend to travel at a later stage to register a few days before their trip. He pointed out that from July 1 and for a period of six weeks there will be a transitional period, during which the use of both the European Digital Certificate and the certificates used to date will be allowed. He also stressed that at the same time, the existing procedure for the registration of the necessary information by the passengers in the electronic platform CyprusFlightPass should be followed.
In conclusion, Mr. Karousos stressed that to return to the pre-coronavirus era, it is not enough just to use the European Digital COVID Certificate, calling on those citizens who have not been vaccinated to do so, so that we can build a real coronavirus protection wall and return soon to normality.
It is pointed out that on the website www.eudcc.gov.cy there are frequently asked questions-answers FAQs in English and FAQ in Greek and a user manual for the citizens, in Greek Manual_Citizen_2021GR and English Manual_Citizen_2021EN.
The certificate officially takes effect from tomorrow, July 1, 2021.