The European Union's digital Covid-19 travel certificate officially went live on Thursday, with more than 200 million documents already generated following a soft launch last month, according to the bloc's executive branch.
Twenty-one EU countries had already started handing out the certificates in June, with five more joining their ranks on July 1, a press release from the European Commission said. Non-EU members Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein are already handing them out too.
Only Ireland is yet to hand out any documents, according to information shared by the commission.
The document, available digitally or on paper, allows EU residents to show whether they have been vaccinated, tested negative, or recently recovered from an infection with the coronavirus.
It is deemed a vital lifeline for European tourism, and a central pillar of the plan to restore free movement in the EU more fully.
The member states still have the final say in whether to impose entry requirements like additional testing or quarantine on travellers within the bloc, but in principle certificate holders should not be subject to such restrictions.
While the 27 EU states have significantly opened up to one another in recent weeks, Germany has come under fire for advising travellers to avoid popular holiday destination Portugal due to the prevalence of the Delta virus variant there.certificate.
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