Estonia has started to test one of the world’s first digital immunity passports, created by a team including founders of global tech startups Transfer wise and Bolt, seeking a safer return to workplaces following the coronavirus lockdown.

A digital immunity passport collects testing data and enables people to share their immunity status with a third party, like an employer, using a temporary QR-code generated after digital authentication.

 “Digital immunity passport aims to diminish fears and stimulate societies all over the globe to move on with their lives amidst the pandemic,” said Taavet Hinrikus, founder of Transfer wise and a member of Back to Work, the non-governmental organization developing the passport.

Many countries and businesses are rushing to develop apps for contact-tracing to enable people to return to their normal lives. Here in the UK, the NHS has opted for the development of a centralized contact-tracing app that is currently being trialled in the Isle of Wight. Meanwhile, the EU has drafted a unified policy on contact-tracing apps to ensure they are secure.

In addition to technology entrepreneurs, back to Work includes local medical experts and state officials. The World Health Organization (WHO) has published guidance on adjusting public health and social-distancing measures for the next phase of the Covid-19 response.

Some governments have suggested that the detection of antibodies to SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19, could serve as the basis for an “immunity passport” or “risk-free certificate” that would enable individuals to travel or to return to work assuming that they are protected against re-infection.

However, WHO has warned that there is currently no evidence that people who have recovered from Covid-19 and have antibodies are protected from a second infection.

Estonia, which has so far recorded 64 deaths due to COVID-19 and 1,791 infections, has started to ease the lockdown measures this month, and opened last week with Lithuania and Latvia the first travel bubble within the European Union.

Source- Reuters