Press Releases

Following a decision of the Council of Ministers to carry out SafePass possession checks via the CovScan Cyprus application, the Ministry of Health reminds that the use of the application becomes mandatory from Monday, 22 November, onwards.

The application quickly and safely certifies the validity of the European Digital Certificate (EUDCC) for SafePass purposes. Therefore, citizens should issue the European Digital Certificate by 22 November, via the website https://www.eudcc.gov.cy/. The EUDCC may be presented in digital form on a mobile phone (smartphone) or in printed form, provided that it displays the QR code. As regards the issuance of a vaccination or recovery certificate, the issuance shall be made once, and in the case of a negative test certificate, the procedure shall be repeated each time a new examination is carried out.

In premises/businesses where more than 10 people can be accommodated and SafePass possession is required, their owners/managers or authorised employees are required, by 22 November, to acquire the application in order to carry out the checks. The application can be installed on any device that uses Android software and is available free of charge via Google Play. Instructions on how the application works can be found at the link: https://wiki.eudcc.gov.cy/COVSCAN_Android_EL.pdf.

It is clarified that in the case of shopping malls or department stores, where more than one business is housed, the control is carried out at the entrance of the shopping mall/department store and no additional control is required by in-house businesses.

Citizens who fall within the following groups are excluded, at the current stage, from the digital QR code check and they may, if they so wish, present the SafePass in another format (see below):

1. People aged 65 and over;
2. People aged 18 years or less;
3. Turkish Cypriot citizens vaccinated in areas of the Republic of Cyprus, where the Government does not exercise effective control;
4. Tourists (i.e. persons not permanently residing in the Republic and legally entering the Republic) who have been vaccinated in countries other than those of the European Union, the European Economic Area (Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein) or Switzerland, and
5. Permanent/legal residents of Cyprus who have been vaccinated in countries other than those of the European Union, the European Economic Area (Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein) or Switzerland.

It is noted that persons falling under the above categories will be checked for SafePass possession, and must present a certificate proving that they meet one of the requirements of SafePass (vaccination card or COVID-19 recovery certificate in printed form or written text message or certificate of negative PCR result or rapid antigen test in printed format or written text message).

It is reminded that the check through the application is done by scanning the QR code indicated on the certificate (in printed or electronic form) and presents the following validity check results:

— Green: The certificate is valid and means that the holder has completed his/her vaccination scheme or has become ill with COVID-19.

— Blue: The certificate is valid and means that the holder has undergone a PCR test with a negative result.

— Yellow/Orange: The certificate is valid and means that the holder has undergone a rapid antigen test (rapid test) with negative result.

— Red: The certificate is invalid.

More information on the CovScan Cyprus application can be found at: https://bit.ly/31UGJtp.

(MPO/NG)