Checking COVID certificates encourages vaccination among Europeans
Different countries call these COVID passes by different names. But how strictly are these rules enforced? BBC correspondents in Europe decided to check this for themselves.
Strict checks in Italy
It seems that Italy turned out to be the strictest, reports Mark Lowen from Rome. 'Green passes' — at least one dose of vaccine, a negative test, or proof of recovery from Covid-19 — are checked literally everywhere: from restaurants to cinemas, gyms, and trains. These documents are also required from all employees at work — in the public or private sector.
'These passes are regularly checked, and my family, returning from Britain (where there are no such rules), was amazed at how strictly COVID rules are followed here, including wearing masks,' the correspondent says.
There is a stereotype that Italians supposedly do not like to follow rules. But the pandemic seems to have changed everything. Italy was the first country to be hit hard by Covid-19, so the anti-vaccination movement here is mostly small. Although there have been protests. A crowd stormed and ransacked trade union buildings, and workers held sit-in strikes in Trieste, an important Italian port. However, police dispersed them with tear gas and water cannons.
After the introduction of new rules, vaccination rates in the country rose sharply. Now about 82% of Italians already have two doses. However, 40% of workers in the rebellious port are still unvaccinated. The passes will likely remain in Italy until the end of the year. Although the Deputy Minister of Health — perhaps to appease protesters — said that the new rules would be 'reviewed' next year. Everything will depend on whether the Covid-19 situation remains under control.
In France, it's already the norm
It's amazing how quickly the so-called 'passe sanitaire' has become part of routine life in France, writes Hugh Schofield in Paris. Most people show their phone screens without resistance at entrances to bars, cinemas, museums, trains, or airports. It's already the norm here.
'Of course, there are people in France who are fundamentally opposed to the need to show documents at every step,' the journalist says. Every Saturday in Paris and other cities, demonstrations take place where anti-vaxxers and libertarians unite against 'health discrimination.' 'However, contrary to expectations, these protests have not turned into a mass movement, and their impact is becoming less noticeable,' concludes Hugh Schofield.
The impact of the 'passe sanitaire' has noticeably influenced vaccination rates. Today, 50 million French people, or 88.4% of those over 12, have been vaccinated with two doses. And since mid-October, the screws have been tightened even more, the correspondent writes: negative tests, which were an alternative to vaccination certificates, will no longer be free.
How long will COVID passes be checked in France? There were hopes that it would only be until mid-November. But it's already clear that this will not happen. The government warns that although the Covid-19 situation has become much better than two months ago, risks still exist before winter. Last week, a bill was passed in the first reading that could extend the validity of passes until July next year.
In the Netherlands, people are trusted
In the Netherlands, things are different, says Anna Holligan. In all the bars, restaurants, cafes, or museums that the correspondent has visited since September 25, when the new rule was introduced, she has never been asked for a pass. Although the rules require everyone over 13 to show a COVID certificate at the entrance everywhere except shops and places where sporting events take place.
'When I asked waiters or cashiers if they wanted to see my QR code as proof of vaccination, the answers varied. From "no, it's fine, we trust you" to "we actually have nothing to check it on,"' writes Anna Holligan. A recent study by I&O Research showed that about a third of cafes and restaurants in the Netherlands did not scan COVID passes.
Although most Dutch people have now become accustomed to the fact that they may be asked for proof of vaccination, problems sometimes arise. Once, a lawsuit was filed claiming that unvaccinated people without a valid reason are being discriminated against. But the judges ruled otherwise.
And supermodel Doutzen Kroes stated on her Instagram that she will not be 'forced to get a jab' or prove she is healthy 'to participate in public life.' 'However, resistance to passes in the Netherlands is more a matter of principle than practicality,' the correspondent concludes.
Denmark has already moved past passes
Denmark has already abandoned its 'coronapas' last month, reports Adrienne Murray from Copenhagen. This country was the first in Europe to introduce COVID passes back in April, and now it has relaxed the rules and no longer considers Covid-19 a 'socially critical' disease.
Politicians initially called the pass rule temporary and kept their promise. There were protests on the streets, but they gathered hundreds, not thousands, of people. 'Danes are technically savvy, so they quickly accepted the pass rules because it meant a quick exit from isolation,' the correspondent says.
But since the 'coronapas' were introduced long before people were vaccinated with two doses, they were regularly required to get tested. Free testing centers appeared on the outskirts of Copenhagen and other cities. Now they are mostly closed because 75% of people over 12 are fully vaccinated.
However, the disease has not gone away, so the country is gradually introducing a third booster dose. Recently, the number of new cases in Denmark has reached more than 1,000 per day and will continue to rise. 'Nevertheless, there is no trace of the pandemic in everyday life, only hand sanitizer at the supermarket entrance. There is no social distancing, and people in masks are rarely seen,' writes Murray.
In Germany, you need to know what '2G' means <\/h2>
In Germany, if you plan to go out to eat or drink, it's good to be familiar with the new Covid slang, writes Damien McGuinness in Berlin. On the doors of many restaurants, cafes, and bars, handwritten signs saying '2G' have appeared. This means that only those who are geimpft (vaccinated) or genesen (recovered) can enter.<\/p>
If there are no signs, then the establishment follows the '3G' rule, meaning that in addition to proof of vaccination or recovery, a negative test is also allowed. By introducing the new rules, Germany also stopped offering free testing. And it seems that people are taking it in stride.<\/p>
One cafe owner said he had only one customer who was not vaccinated. 'To that I replied that with such a decision he is only limiting himself,' McGuinness quotes the man. <\/p>
Austria will not let the unvaccinated onto the ice rink <\/h2>
Austrians have been using '3G certificates' for several months, reports Bethany Bell in Vienna. When she and a friend entered one of their favorite restaurants in the capital, the waiter looked at them suspiciously and asked: 'You have the green passes, right?' And before giving them the menu, he glanced at their phone screens. Some check documents more strictly, while others don't even ask about them.<\/p>
'While many Austrians welcomed the new rules, seeing them as a step toward freedom, the opposition far-right Freedom Party defended those who disagree,' writes Bethany Bell. Party leader Herbert Kickl believes that the government is dividing society into good people, i.e., the vaccinated, and bad people, the unvaccinated.<\/p>
However, from November 1, Austrians will have to show '3G certificates' when entering the workplace. And in winter, they will be required at the entrance to the ice rink. <\/p>
In the Balkans, checks are slow <\/h2>
In Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, and North Macedonia, Balkan correspondent Guy Delauney noticed little enthusiasm for Covid passes. On the main square of Skopje, the capital of North Macedonia, only one restaurant refused entry to people without documents, while all others did not bother with checks at all. Restaurant staff complain about the new rules, so a sign or sticker on tables about the new rules serves more as a fig leaf in case of a police visit.<\/p>
Slovenia has one of the lowest vaccination rates in the EU, and initially, the country's attempts to implement a Covid pass system improved the situation. But then the Constitutional Court suspended mandatory passes for public sector workers. Signs in shops and restaurants remind people about the certificates. But checks are selective.<\/p>
However, the number of new coronavirus cases is rising, so despite the unpopularity of passes, governments in the Balkans will likely try to introduce new rules again.<\/p>