Green passes can now be checked by a new state app. (source: SME)
Facility owners in districts that are not in the green tier of the Covid warning system and event organisers can now use a state-designed app to check whether people have been vaccinated against, tested for or have recovered from Covid.
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The OverPass app can be downloaded on the website of the state-run Slovensko IT company (which developed it), and also in the Google Play store. It can be used by phones with an Android operational system.
Though Health Minister Vladimír Lengvarský (OĽaNO nominee) said on July 17 that the app was ready and that it would be launched with days, it took almost two weeks to actually launch it, the Sme daily reported.
Mostly visual controls
According to the current valid alert system, known as the Covid automat, the owners of facilities and event organisers can choose from three entry options. They can either let everybody in (including the untested and unvaccinated); require confirmation that participants have been fully vaccinated against Covid, tested negative for Covid or have recovered from Covid; or they can let only the fully vaccinated in. The fewer the restrictions, the stricter the rules (including a stricter limit on the number of people who can enter).
The OverPass app is important mostly for those who choose the latter two options. The owners of facilities can also check the paper forms of the required confirmations.
Some owners of restaurants in the orange-tier districts addressed by Sme, who already need to apply stricter rules and have chosen to allow people with some kind of confirmation of vaccination, a negative test result or recovery from Covid, said that they currently only check the confirmations visually, without using the app.
Currently, there are 12 districts in the orange tier, namely Banská Štiavnica, Gelnica, Kežmarok, Košice I-IV, Levoča, Poprad, Spišská Nová Ves, Stropkov, and Vranov nad Topľou. Most of them are in eastern Slovakia, which has the lowest rate of fully vaccinated people, Sme reported.
The new map of districts from August 23, 2021 (source: Health Ministry)
The rules applied in orange-tier districts are a bit stricter than in the green tier. For example, customers entering restaurants need to show a green pass, a negative test or confirmation of recovery from Covid. Masks are mandatory inside buildings and also at mass events held both indoors and outdoors. If the owners of restaurants decide to let everybody in, only their outdoor terrace can be open.
There are also some limits in shops, regardless of what they decide to require from customers. Only one person per 15 square metres is allowed in at a time.
