Virus Passport

• China has launched a health certificate programme for Chinese international travellers, leading the world in plans for so-called virus passports.
• The digital certificate, which shows a user’s vaccination status and virus test results, is available for Chinese citizens via a programme on Chinese social media platform WeChat .
• The certificate is being rolled out “to help promote world economic recovery and facilitate cross-border travel,”
• The certificate, which is also available in paper form, is thought to be the world’s first known “virus passport”.
• China’s programme includes an encrypted QR code that allows each country to obtain a travellers’ health information.
• “QR health codes” within WeChat and other Chinese smartphone apps are already required to gain entry to domestic transport and many public spaces in China.
• The apps track a user’s location and produce a “green” code – synonymous with good health – if a user has not been in close contact with a confirmed case or has not travelled to a virus hotspot.
• But the system has sparked privacy concerns and fears it marks an expansion of government surveillance.