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March 2021 Newsletter header
Digital Immunization Passport
and Other Developing Protocols

 
Another informative installment in our Global Rebound 2021 Series, the Bilateral Chamber is pleased to offer insight on the development of a globally-accepted Digital “Covid-19 immunization/testing documentation” passport and other innovative protocols being implemented by airports and airlines around the world to facilitate safe travel.

We will continue to provide our members with relevant, timely information to help you navigate through these unprecedented times as the global community looks optimistically forward to the resumption of international air travel.

If you have any questions or would like to share helpful resources, please feel free to contact us at info@bilateralchamber.org.

Bilateral Star 2
COVID Data Tracker (Per CDC)
U.S. Data As of March 1, 2021

Cases Reported - 28,405,925
Total Vaccines Administered - 76,899,987
Deaths Reported - 511,839


Global Percentage Change in Cases Reported in Past 7 Days
MARCH1 update Percent change covid
Source: 2021 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

 Global

IATA: Travel Pass Initiative

To re-open borders without quarantine and restart aviation governments need to be confident that they are effectively mitigating the risk of importing COVID-19. This means having accurate information on passengers’ COVID-19 health status.
Informing passengers on what tests, vaccines and other and vaccination results in a verifiable, safe and privacy-protecting manner is the key to giving confidence to open borders. To address this challenge, IATA is working on launching the IATA Travel Pass, a digital platform for passengers, to provide solutions to these difficult challenges.

New York Times: Coming Soon: The ‘Vaccine Passport’

Passport
In the near future, travel may require digital documentation showing that passengers have been vaccinated or tested for the coronavirus. Among governments and those in the travel industry, a new term has entered the vocabulary: vaccine passport.

Travel Pulse: The Race To Create a Global Digital COVID-19 Passport Is On
Mobile covid results
The global travel industry seems to be in agreement that a secure, electronic documentation system for verifying travelers’ ID information (like a traditional passport) and linked to their COVID-19 test results and vaccination records, will be key to restarting international travel on any meaningful level.

The Washington Post: Covid-19 Passports Aim to Streamline Travel Requirements. But There’s No One-Size-Fits-All Fix
Airport check in
International travel declined by around 90 percent after the pandemic hit — but those still crossing borders may have begun to encounter a novel concept: “covid-19 passports,” or a mobile platform that proves a traveler meets a country’s requirements, such as a negative coronavirus test or, in a few cases, having received the coronavirus vaccine.
Also called health passports, these are not official documents granted by governments; rather, they are digital passes issued by apps, and accepted by some companies and countries, which have arisen to meet demands by airlines and governments that travelers have a negative coronavirus status. Instead of showing paper-based proof of a test or vaccination card at an airport — which could either be forged, lost or arbitrarily rejected without a streamlined process — a traveler would be able to store and certify their information via their phone.

CNA: WHO Looks at E-certificates for COVID-19 Vaccination
The World Health Organization said it was considering introducing electronic vaccination certificates. "We are looking very closely into the use of technology in this COVID-19 response and one of them is how can we work with members states towards something called an e-vaccination certificate," WHO Europe expert Siddhartha Datta told an online press briefing.


United States and Canada 

CBS: United Launches "Travel Ready Center" so Passengers Can Get COVID-19 Test at Airport
United Airlines is now the first U.S. airline to offer passengers access to in-airport coronavirus testing. The rollout is a streamlined way for passengers to book a ticket, schedule a test and upload the results on the company's app, in what travel experts say could be the "new normal" of travel.

Fox News: Hawaii Developing Coronavirus Vaccine Passports to Make Travel Easier
Hawaii is reportedly developing a program that could allow anyone who is fully vaccinated to visit the island state without quarantining.

People who have received their full dose of a coronavirus vaccine will be given an electronic code -- a vaccine passport --, which allows them to travel between islands, according to Hawaii News Now. This vaccine passport is expected to roll out to essential workers who are fully vaccinated first, Lt. Gov. Josh Green told the station. That could be as early as March 1.

Forbes: What You Need To Know About Canada’s New Border Travel Restrictions
Having recently announced new strict mandatory COVID-19 testing for all travelers entering Canada by air, the Canadian government is now introducing mandatory testing at all land borders. The press release states that: “Canada has some of the strictest travel and border measures in the world, including a mandatory 14-day quarantine for everyone returning to the country.

Skift: Why Air Canada Is Leaning Into a Covid Testing Mandate as Other Airlines Balk
Air Canada is lobbying hard for mandatory Covid-19 testing for air travelers to and in its namesake country, even as its peers in the U.S. balk at a similar proposal from the new Biden administration. Air Canada has put its money where its mouth is and is finalizing an order for rapid tests from pharmaceutical firm Abbott to administer to customers and staff. And it has also partnered with pharmacy chains to offer travelers pre-departure testing before flights.

 
 MENA/Eastern Mediterranean

Arab News: Bahrain Launches Digital COVID-19 Vaccine Passport
Bahrain has launched a digital COVID-19 vaccine passport, one of the first countries to do so, the Gulf state’s media office said on Wednesday (February 17). Governments and developers around the world are exploring how certificates and passports could help to reopen economies by identifying those protected against COVID-19.

Bahrain’s ‘BeAware’ app displays a green shield alongside an official certificate detailing the person’s name, date of birth, nationality and which vaccine was received.

Arab News: Emirates to Digitally Verify Passengers’ COVID-19 Medical Records

Airport line
Emirates has signed an agreement with the Dubai Health Authority (DHA) to digitally verify passengers’ medical records, as part of the UAE’s efforts to revive the travel industry following the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
The IT systems of DHA-approved laboratories will be linked with Emirates’ reservations and check-in systems so the airline can verify passengers’ health information related to COVID-19 infection, testing and vaccination.

Arabian Business: UAE Capital Abu Dhabi Updates Travel 'Green List' as Coronavirus Restrictions Ease
Abu Dhabi’s Department of Culture and Tourism (DCT Abu Dhabi) has updated its Green List, allowing visitors from China and Australia, among others, quarantine-free entry to the UAE capital.

Effective Tuesday (February 23), passengers from countries on the Green List will be exempt from mandatory quarantine measures after landing in Abu Dhabi and will only be required to undergo PCR testing upon arrival at the emirate’s airport.

Arab News: Saudi Arabia Launches ‘Health Passport’ for COVID-19 Vaccine Recipients
Saudi Arabia has launched a digital “health passport,” available through the Ministry of Health’s Tawakkalna app. The ‘passport’ will contain a registry of an individual’s vaccination against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and confirmation that the individual is immune to the virus, it was announced at a press conference on Thursday.

Jewish News: Israel Lifts Covid Restrictions as ‘Green Passport’ System Introduced
Vaccinations
Israel lifted coronavirus lockdown restrictions this week with its “green passport” system showing those vaccinated against Covid-19 allowing even indoor facilities such as gyms to reopen.
Vaccine passports are being actively considered by leaders in England and Scotland and all eyes are on the Israeli model following its rapid rollout of jabs meaning that more than half of its population has now received at least one dose.

Qatar Airways: Targets Becoming the First Airline in the Middle East to Trial the IATA Travel Pass COVID-19 ‘Digital Passport’ Mobile App

Qatar mobile digital passport
Qatar Airways targets becoming the first airline in the Middle East to begin trialling the innovative new IATA Travel Pass ‘Digital Passport’ mobile app, in partnership with the International Air Transport Association (IATA), from March 2021.
The trial will play an important role in the airline's vision to have a more contactless, secure and seamless travel experience for its passengers.

The first phase of trials of the ‘Digital Passport’ will be rolled out on the airline’s Doha to Istanbul route, enabling passengers to receive COVID-19 test results and verify they are eligible to undertake their journey. It will also allow travellers to safely and securely share their verified 'OK to Travel’ status with the airline and other stakeholders, even before their arrival at the airport.


United Kingdom/European Union 

Travel and Leisure: The UK Is Proposing a Standardized Vaccine Passport for
Future Travel

UK vaccine passport
The United Kingdom plans to push for an internationally-recognized vaccine passport in an effort to get travel off the ground again in the coming months.
The UK will use its presidency of the G7 to tout the concept, which in theory would allow international travel to resume. The government would look to create "a clear international framework with standards that provide consistency for passengers and industry alike," according to a document released this month outlining the country's pandemic-related plans.

Forbes: Vaccination Passports: Deals Made For Free Flow Of Travel Between EU Countries For Summer 2021
Many EU/Schengen area countries, such as Greece, Denmark, Sweden and Iceland are working on getting vaccination passports up and running. In Poland, people will download a QR code to their mobile phone from a centralized health website to take with them on their travels, and in Denmark, they will open an application, which will act like a second passport.

Fox News: Sweden to Launch Digital Coronavirus 'Vaccine Passport' to Allow Travel
The Swedish government on Thursday, February 4, said it will be launching a digital coronavirus "vaccine passport" to allow people who have been vaccinated to travel.

Digitalization Minister Anders Ygeman said three authorities in Sweden had been asked to work on producing the certificate, and the plan is to coordinate it with the World Health Organization and the European Union.

Simple Flying: Lufthansa To Trial Health Passports On Select Routes
Lufthansa has set up the Lufthansa Group Health Entry Support Center to verify negative COVID-19 test results before travel. As early as 72 hours before their flight, passengers will be able to submit a negative COVID-19 test certificate to the airline via an online portal.

AP: Denmark to Develop Digital Passport Proving Vaccinations
Denmark’s government said Wednesday, February 3, it is joining forces with businesses to develop a digital passport that would show whether people have been vaccinated against the coronavirus, allowing them to travel and help ease restrictions on public life.

The Local: Spain to Add Covid-19 Vaccine Passport to Travel Corridor Scheme
Spain
Spain's Tourism Minister has announced that Covid vaccination certificates or passports will form part of the safe travel corridor scheme her government is preparing to allow the reopening of international tourism.
 
 Africa
 
Simple Flying: Rwandair Will Be The First African Airline To Use IATA’s Health Passport
Rwandair
Rwandair is set to become the first African airline to use IATA’s Travel Pass health passport. In April, the airline is set to launch the app for a three-week trial on one short-haul route. It comes after other airlines continue to seek health passport solutions.
Simple Flying: Health Passports: The Future Of Travel?
Health passports are something we had hardly heard of a year ago; now everyone is talking about them. Some form of passport or proof of health status is likely to be a lasting legacy of the pandemic. Put simply, a health passport is a trusted document that confirms the holder’s status concerning certain diseases.

Town & Country: Will a Covid-19 "Vaccination Passport" Finally Allow You to Travel Without Tests or Quarantines?
The dream is a digital health passport that would announce to the world that we have been vaccinated against Covid-19 and are therefore good to go—something we could brandish to board planes and cruise ships, cross borders, check into hotels, and be exempted, as well, perhaps, from tests and quarantines.

Call them what you will—"Covid certificates," "immunity passports," "digital health passports," "freedom passes"—they have quickly become (before they have even been developed) the Holy Grail of the age of Covid.


India/South Asia and APACv

Reuters: Thailand Says Nears Vaccine Passport, Hopes to Welcome Tourists in Third Quarter
Thai authorities are preparing a plan to ease restrictions for travellers vaccinated against the coronavirus, senior officials said on Wednesday, as the country looks to revive a tourism industry battered by travel curbs.

Measures for vaccinated visitors would be introduced step-by-step and could include shortening the mandatory quarantine for all arrivals from two weeks to three days for those vaccinated, or waiving it entirely, Tourism Authority of Thailand Governor (TAT) Yuthasak Supasorn said.

The Straits Times: Air New Zealand to Trial Digital Covid-19 'Vaccination Passport'
Air New Zealand will trial a digital travel pass to give airlines and border authorities access to passenger health information, including their Covid-19 vaccination status, the carrier said on Monday (Feb 22).

The Star: Vaccine Passport Offers Hope
As Covid-19 vaccinations start to roll out in many countries, including Malaysia which will start soon, talk of a “vaccine passport” is gaining pace… Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents (MATTA) president Datuk Tan Kok Liang said a vaccine passport or certificate could be a good start for the travel industry in the short to medium term.

Eco-Business: Coronavirus Vaccine Passports: What You Need to Know
Governments and developers around the world are exploring how certificates and passports could help to reopen economies by identifying those protected against Covid-19. With the novel coronavirus, the proposed certificates would attest one of three things: that the holder has been vaccinated, has tested negative for the virus or has recovered from it. Their use could allow governments to lift some pandemic-induced restrictions, allowing people to travel in planes, attend concerts, go to work or dine out, supporters say.

And in India, everyone who has been vaccinated will get a QR code-based electronic certificate, the health ministry has said.

ABS CBN News: Philippines Senate Moves to Replace 'Vaccine Passport' with 'COVID-19 Vaccine Card'
The Philippine Senate has adopted to replace the controversial terminology, “vaccine passport”, with “COVID-19 vaccine card”. “This is a way that… tourism and travel, even essential travel, can be implemented because this will again give confidence to people that it is safe for them to move around; there are also private companies who are building these passports, certificates, cards for the very same reason” Senator Pia Cayetano explained.


Latin/South America 

Aerospace Technology: Copa Airlines and Panama Participate in IATA Travel Pass Trial
Copa Airlines - Covid
The Government of Republic of Panama and Copa Airlines are taking part in the International Air Transport Association (IATA) IATA Travel Pass trial.
IATA Travel Pass is a digital platform for passengers to help them store and manage their verified certifications for Covid-19 tests or vaccines. IATA Travel Pass mobile application incorporates a global registry of health requirements, global registry of testing / vaccination centres, lab app, and contactless travel app to manage travel documentation digitally.

Business Travel News: Latam Partners with Labs for Passenger Covid-19 Tests
Latam Airlines Group is offering its passengers discounted Covid-19 testing via partnerships with laboratories across its destination network, the carrier announced. The services are available in Chile, Peru, Colombia, Brazil and the United States. The offering is a part of the group's recent update to its Covid-19 protocols.

Aviation Pros: Jamaica International Airport Selects TPT Global’s 'QuikLAB' COVID-19 Testing, Monitoring, Vaccination App and 'QuikPASS' Check and Verify Passport Platform
Jamaica International Airport
recently announced it has partnered with TPT Global Tech Inc. ("TPTW or the Company") and its subsidiary TPT MedTech's to deploy its "QuikLAB" and "QuikPASS" technology platforms as the "Check and Verify" Passport systems for all travelers in and out of the country of Jamaica.

Dominican Today: American Airlines Introduces Health Passport on International Flights
American Airlines with the Verifly health passport seeks to expedite travel to the United States. Initially, it was implemented for Chile. It expanded its coverage to Colombia, Jamaica, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. As of Saturday, January 23, it will be available for trips from all international destinations.


Thank You to our President's Circle
 President Circle logo 2021
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