New vaccination certificate

A new electronic vaccination certificate, which was rolled out on Saturday after being approved by Cabinet, will replace the temporary one that was emailed to most fully vaccinated persons.

According to Minister of Health and Wellness, Lieutenant Colonel Jeffrey Bostic, it will feature a barcode and security seal and will be used by patrons for entry into events, as well as for travel to show proof of vaccination against COVID-19.  He was speaking at a COVID-19 update and press conference Saturday evening.

Minister Bostic said all persons who have been fully vaccinated would be issued with one of these upgraded certificates. He added that health officials intended to meet with event organisers “over the next few days” to explain how the process will work.

When asked about the 150 limit placed on the number of people who could attend events, Head of the COVID Monitoring Unit, Ronald Chapman, explained that figure was chosen because it was manageable in terms of the amount of risk.

“As the Prime Minister said, as we go ahead and as we do it and are sure we can get it done properly, then there may be room for us to modify and maybe increase that number. But that 150 has to do with the Ministry’s ability to conduct contact tracing, and it also speaks to the level of resources we have and the amount of risk we’re looking to take at this point in time,” Chapman stated.