MONTREAL — “Green” or “red” status: Quebec’s vaccine passport system will indicate in just a few seconds whether the person presenting it has been adequately vaccinated and can therefore have access to various places, including gyms, restaurants and movie theater. It will be in effect as planned on September 1, the Quebec government announced on Tuesday, which says it is “ready”.

The vaccination passport will be required for all Quebecers aged 13 and over who want to access certain places or practice certain activities.

Pilot projects have been carried out in recent weeks and “the tests have been very, very conclusive”, declared the Minister of Health, Christian Dubé, at a press conference on Tuesday to reveal the details of the passport and its terms and conditions. 'use.

“With the vaccine and the vaccine passport, we want to avoid closing businesses and prohibiting activities,” he explained.

“It's boring for people who refuse to be vaccinated. We will respect that. But we cannot take an entire population hostage to keep privileges for a minority that refuses the vaccine.

Free and official, two applications have been created to make the passport system work: citizens will be able to obtain “VaxiCode” and merchants can download the “VaxiCodeVerif” application which allows them to check the vaccination status of their customers.

The passport will be required, as previously announced, in bars, restaurants, cinemas, gyms, casinos, performance halls, and to practice team sports or physical activities involving frequent or prolonged contact, including outside. opportunity for an extracurricular activity.

The complete list was made public on Tuesday afternoon: https://www.quebec.ca/sante/problemes-de-sante/az/coronavirus-2019/deroulement-vaccination-contre-la-covid-19/passeport- de-vaccination-covid-19/places-and-activities-requiring-vaccination-passport-covid-19

As for the applications, they will be available on Wednesday for Apple devices (on the AppStore) and in a few days for Android devices (on Google Play).

VaxiCode will allow citizens to upload their QR Code which is their proof of adequate vaccination, which for most citizens means two doses. More than 90% of vaccinated people have already received their QR code by email, said Mr. Dubé. Otherwise, they can get it on the Québec government's self-service portal. Parents will be able to have proof of all members of their immediate family on their smartphone. Everyone will need to show photo ID.

Safe

When using the app, the merchant will see a green banner that means the customer is in good standing, or a red banner that means they are not. He only sees the name of the person, his date of birth and the government certification which will be “unalterable”, we promise. There will be no further information, government officials insisted during a technical briefing offered Tuesday morning to the media. Data will not be stored on the merchant's device or cloud computing.

These applications are secure and pose no danger of fraud or theft of personal information, said Éric Caire, Minister responsible for Access to Information and Protection of Personal Information, also present at the press briefing.

“You can use them with confidence.”

The application also makes it possible to detect whether the QR code is false or falsified, he added.

This can result in penalties of $1000 to $6000. And above all, it is a criminal act, insisted Minister Dubé during the press conference. Why take such a risk for something that is free? he asked.

To establishments that refuse to require proof of vaccination, Mr. Dubé reminded that Public Health has the power to close them.

And if the passport will be in force in a few days, no sanction or penalty will be applied before September 15, just to give businesses a little time to tame the application.

The pilots helped identify — and, it is claimed, fix — some “minor” issues that arose: was the paper evidence wrinkled? It needs to be smoothed out as much as possible. The QR Code was unreadable on the phone? You need to increase the brightness of the device.

At all times, Quebecers will be able to present their paper version of their QR Code for reading. A “business card” format will soon be available for the wallet and Quebecers will be able to print it themselves or obtain it by mail.

Special situations

Young people under the age of 13 do not have access to the vaccination passport: they only have to present a photo ID showing their age.

Residents of other provinces and tourists can go to restaurants and other designated places by showing proof of vaccination and proof of residence of that place.

Those who have not received their two doses of vaccine because they have been infected with COVID will have no difficulty: the application's algorithm has been designed to take this situation into account and their vaccine passport will indicate “green” when they present it.

For those who cannot be vaccinated for a medical reason, their doctor can fill out a form which will be entered in the vaccination register and which can provide the code required for the proper functioning of the passport.

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