Germany launches digital health pass

Germany has implemented a COVID-19 health-pass system, through which people will be able to gain entry to venues by proving they have been vaccinated or tested negative for the disease.

Evidence of inoculation with a European Union-approved vaccine provides one way for German residents and tourists to access venues, including restaurants, bars, pubs, cafes, gyms, and salons, as well as to events that have large crowds.

Alternatively, people can show proof of a recent negative COVID-19 test, or prove they have recently recovered from the virus. Tests will be provided for free until mid-October, when they will then cost up to 20 euros ($23.50).

The new system is being widely referred to as the 3G rule (geimpft－vaccinated, genesen－recovered, and getestet－tested).

Germany signed off on the health-pass system earlier this month, when German Chancellor Angela Merkel noted that the nation was no longer the EU leader on vaccination rates.

"I ask all those who have already been vaccinated to encourage their friends, acquaintances, and family members to get vaccinated, too," Merkel said in a statement. "The more people are vaccinated, the fewer infections we will see."

The system is backed by the federal government, though implementation differs slightly across the nation's 16 states.

The government advises that the 3G system should be triggered when infections exceed 35 cases per 100,000 people during a seven-day period but some states have opted for a lower threshold. For example, 20 cases per 100,000 will trigger the system in Brandenburg, and several states have chosen to implement the 3G rule no matter what the infection rate.

Failure to comply with the system may see venues or individuals fined by regional authorities.

Some nightclubs and sports stadiums have opted for a stricter, so-called 2G system, which only grants entry to people who can provide proof of their vaccination or recent recovery from COVID-19. This has led to protests, including among soccer fans, who argue that the system discriminates against people who do not wish to get vaccinated.

Unrest has also occurred in France, which implemented a similar COVID-19 health-pass system earlier this summer. Even so, both testing and vaccine rates have increased markedly in France, as well as across more than a dozen European nations that have installed similar measures.

Last week, the Supreme Court in Madrid ruled against a proposal from the Andalusian government to limit nightclub access to people who have been vaccinated or tested negative. The court said that such a system might infringe on individuals' fundamental rights and the ruling has cast doubt over whether a COVID-19 health-pass system could get off the ground in Spain on a regional or national level..