Corona warning app 2.6 can check EU Covid certificates for validity
The EU’s digital Covid certificate has been mandatory since July 1, 2021 and can be stored in the Corona warning app. Now the app can check the validity of the certificates itself.
The EU Covid certificate, which is uniform on paper, is not only a pleasure in practice. It often starts with the fact that the pharmacy or the trusted test center is still unable to issue system-compliant certificates. But this is another story.
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Corona warning app can check certificates based on the respective country rules – partially
Let’s assume that you have succeeded in having a compliant digital certificate available in your Corona warning app. Now you want to travel with it. The problem: depending on the travel destination, different rules apply to test and vaccination certificates.
How to check an EU Covid digital certificate for validity. (Screenshots: t3n / CWA-App)
The new version 2.6 of the Corona warning app can now check its validity and take into account the requirements of your travel country – at least if it is an EU country. Like the operators Telekom and SAP in a detailed blog post explain, the app should “take into account the applicable entry rules of the selected travel destination and compare them with various parameters of the certificate, such as the date and type of test, test center or date of vaccination”.
The prerequisite for this, however, is that the EU countries make their requirements known to the app. At the start, only Germany, Spain, the Netherlands, Ireland, Luxembourg and Lithuania would have done this. Other countries are to follow in the coming week.
The validity of the certificate must be checked manually. The test should also be possible for accompanying family members. The further check must be carried out according to the means of transport used. The time of border crossing or departure must be entered manually. If there is a time difference, this must be converted to your own local time so that the test can produce a correct result.
In addition, the operators of the app recommend checking the certificates at least 48 hours before the trip – because the rules can change at any time.
If the check works, users receive information as to whether the certificate is valid and complies with the entry rules. The different acceptance periods in the various countries and the question of whether the test procedure is accepted at all should be taken into account. If the automatic check fails, all that remains is manual research via the web.
Further innovations from the current update
The 7-day incidences for up to five districts or urban districts can now be stored in the statistics area of the app. Functions relating to tests are available via a new tile on the start page. For example, the closest test center with a connection to the infrastructure of the Corona warning app can be searched for. The new tile also gives you access to your own quick test profiles. The app update is available immediately and should be distributed to all users within 48 hours.
