EU prepares COVID-19 pass plan to allow residents to freely travel by summer
The plan foresees the creation of vaccine certificates aimed at facilitating travel from one member state to the other. Author: SAMUEL PETREQUIN Associated Press Published: 9:14 AM EDT March 17, 2021 Updated: 9:14 AM EDT March 17, 2021
BRUSSELS, Belgium With summer looming and tourism-reliant countries anxiously waiting for the return of a steady influx of tourism income amid the coronavirus pandemic, the European Union s executive body presented a proposal Wednesday that would allow European citizens and residents vaccinated or not to travel freely across the 27-nation region by the summer.
The plan, which will be discussed next week during a summit of EU leaders, foresees the creation of vaccine certificates aimed at facilitating travel from one member state to the other.
Boost for Irish tourist holiday hopes this summer as EU proposes new plan to get people back flying
There is some hope people could be back flying to Spain, Portugal and other holiday hotspots (Image: Getty Images/iStockphoto)
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Covid-19 cases rising significantly in 14 US states over past week
From CNN’s Brandon Miller
Covid-19 cases are rising by more than 10% in 14 states this week compared to last week, with half of those states rising by more than 20%.
While nationally the number of new cases has continued to decline – though at a much slower rate over the past three weeks compared to late January and February – the trend is not down for all states.
One month ago, on Feb. 17, there were only 3 states showing increases of 10% or more (North Dakota, South Dakota, and Nebraska).
Michigan cases are increasing the fastest, at more than 50% this week compared to last, with Delaware (39%), Montana (34%), Alabama (31%) and West Virginia (29%) in the Top 5.
The EU Commission have said the system will be non-discriminatory against those not vaccinated.
The certificate will be available free of charge in a digital or paper format and will include a QR code to ensure security and authenticity of the travel pass.
The Commission say they will build a gateway to ensure all certificates can be verified across the EU and will support member states in the technical implementation of certs.
The system is being planned to ensure EU citizens can travel safely and with minimum restrictions this summer.
According to the Commission, the certificate system will respect data protection with the travel passes requiring only a limited amount of information.