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Perhaps the greatest enthusiasm was shown by the tourism, travel and accommodation sectors, which were hit the hardest by almost all business areas during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Delfi spoke with Egle Ližaityte, executive director of the Lithuanian Hotel and Restaurant Association, who made no secret of his optimism about the idea of a vaccination certificate. “We really are in favor of the entire tourism sector. Not only these hotels, but also airlines, tour operators, and travel agencies. It is very important that everyone has clarity so that we can start a movement as soon as possible. Unless people who are sick, or are vaccinated, who have immunity, can go to other municipalities, to sanatoriums, to visit hotels and restaurants. We really welcome this initiative and believe that it will stimulate recovery, ”said E. Ližaitytė.
“Europe has agreed that such a unified system could already emerge in June, which in fact would be done quickly enough. We hope that it works perfectly already ”, said the interlocutor.
It is true that there is still great uncertainty about who and how should ensure that the system is effective and is enforced. The European Commission has emphasized that a vaccination certificate will not be grounds for discrimination. This is to ensure that things like movement between countries do not become a privilege for some and that the right to leave is not unduly restricted. In other words, those without a passport could travel, but would be subject to all security, quarantine and self-isolation requirements.
However, the question then arises as to who should ensure that the person who arrives follows the established procedure, that is, the passport holder can behave more freely, and the person without it follows the self-isolation regime.
Eglė Ližaitytė, Executive Director of the Lithuanian Hotel and Restaurant Association, does not believe that this should be the responsibility of accommodation service companies. “It just came to our knowledge then. I even think that accommodation establishments should not have the obligation to consult here. Here, as with valid visas, hotels are not obliged to do so. There are border control functions here,” said E. Ližaitytė.
“We believe that here, as now, when you travel, arrive in Lithuania or go to other countries, this checkpoint is a border area. Either at the airports or only at the border crossings, said the interlocutor, “it was just done when arriving in the country, all the documents were reviewed. Be it the results of a test or the passport of a vaccine. People traveled as usual. “
However, it is not clear how this system should work, since if only border controls were carried out, the subsequent action of a person without a passport and forced to be isolated would depend solely on their conscience, and hotels or other tourism companies would not they would be able to check.
The European Parliament speeds up the adoption process
In order to keep up with the idea of a certificate of immunity before the summer season, the European Parliament has decided to examine the proposal of the European Commission as a matter of urgency.
468 MEPs supported the acceleration, 203 voted against and 16 abstained.
In the EP debate on March 25-26, concern was expressed that the main threat to the implementation of the Green Certificate was the slow vaccination process and the possibility that EU countries would increase the number of people with immunity to make the idea effective.
Juan Fernando López Aguilar, president of the Parliament’s civil rights commission, said: “A certificate cannot be considered a condition for free movement, since it is a natural right in the European Union and cannot discriminate against those who do not have it. Citizen data must be protected and contain only the necessary information. “
Merkel: vaccine passports will appear before summer
Digital vaccine passports that will be able to travel across Europe despite the coronavirus pandemic are likely to appear before the start of summer, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said after a virtual summit of European Union leaders.
“Everyone agreed that we needed a digital vaccination certificate,” Merkel told a news conference on Thursday, adding that it would take the European Commission around three months to establish a technical basis for such documents, Reuters reports.
“It would certainly be great to have such a certificate in the future, but that does not mean that only those with such a certificate [skiepų] passports of people. As a result, no political decisions have been made yet, “Merkel told reporters.
According to Bloomberg, according to a couple of sources, with the growing support for digital certificates that indicate whether a person has been vaccinated or a coronavirus test was negative, about acquired immunity, etc., Merkel’s position on this issue has been smoothed.
It is true that the president of the European Commission, Ursula von del Leyen, has called for a faster search for solutions, since American technology companies, she said, have already discussed an alternative with the World Health Organization (WHO).
Skeptics fear possible harm
The certificate of immunity is often seen as a way to encourage people to travel safely again, but there are also skeptical voices about the proposal.
Vaccine passports that allow access to bars and cafes in the fight against the new coronavirus could have the opposite effect than expected, warns Stephen Reicher, a UK government adviser and professor of social psychology.
According to the expert, this measure may encourage those who are already skeptical of the vaccine to resist them even more.
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson seeks to allay fears of a possible decision to apply for coronavirus health certificates, but the opposition is opposed to the proposal.
A UK Government working group is considering possible options for using such a certificate. Once such a procedure has been implemented, catering services will only be able to accept visitors who can demonstrate that they have been vaccinated, have a negative coronavirus test or are ill and have antibodies.
Only Reicher, a member of the Spi-B Scientific Pandemic Behavior Insights Group, believes that the introduction of vaccine passports could undermine public vaccination processes.
“I don’t think the mere idea of a vaccination passport to get to the bar is a good idea. I think that in many cases it can do more harm than good, ”the expert told the BBC.
According to Richter, who is based on the results of a public inquiry in Israel, “the very idea of mandatory vaccination has sparked public outrage and led to those who were already hesitant to abandon it.”
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