QCOSTARICA – As of December 1, it will be mandatory to show the QR code of the covid-19 vaccination certificate to enter different establishments as announced by President Carlos Alvarado on Wednesday.
“As of December 1, the complete vaccination scheme with a digital certificate will be mandatory to access certain activities,” Alvarado said.
Read more: As of December 1, a vaccination certificate will be mandatory in Costa Rica
Alvarado refers to whether you decide to go to places such as restaurants, sodas, coffee shops and food courts, bars and casinos, retail stores, including department stores and shopping centers, as well as museums, centers of physical conditioning, hotels, cabins or accommodation establishments and spas, among others, you will have to have the QR code to be allowed to enter.
Supermarkets and pharmacies will be among the list of exempted establishments requiring the QR code to enter.
The QR code is a digital tool that allows you to confirm if a person has both doses of the covid-19 vaccine.
The saving grace is that the QR code does not need the Internet and is used with a free mobile application, which will be made available to people in a few days.
The Ministry of Health reported that, as of Tuesday, October 12, it has issued 1,110,000 vaccination certificates, with an average daily of 30,000 certificates. without the vaccinated having even requested it (people who have the email registered in EDUS), and about 1,200 daily to those who request it.
To meet the December 1 deadline, the Ministry of Health will have to step up its game or face a backlash from consumers and businesses, alike.
As of November 8, those who have the certificate will have to update it to the new QR code, in what the Ministry of Health explains an easy task that involves signing in and downloading the new code.
The vaccination certificate and QR code is only issued to those who have completed their two-dose vaccination schedule more than 8 days prior. The process of obtaining the certificate takes about 10 business days (like two weeks) and can be requested at the following link: https://www.ministeriodesalud.go.cr/index.php/vigilancia-de-la-salud/certificado-de-vacunacion-covid-19
The process is somewhat easier for those who have the “firma digital” (digital signature) enabled; for the not, it is required to send by email (after filling out the form) a copy of the ID (cedula, residency or passport) and both sides of the vaccination card issued (at the time of vaccination) by the Caja Costarricense de Seguro Social (CCSS).
Important to note that if you don’t get your covid-19 vaccination certificate in two weeks after requesting, first you should check your “spam” or “junk mail” folders, then follow up with the Ministry of Health.
As to the use, the presentation of the QR code can be done in both digital and printed format.
As of November, it can be downloaded through the site: https://usuarios.ministeriodesalud.go.cr
The process:
- At the page click on “COMENZAR”
- Enter your type of ID: Cedula, DIMEX (legal residents), Passport, Foreigner, Unknown
- Your document number, ie cedula, dimex, passport, etc
- Enter your PIN (personal identification number). Don’t have one, not to worry, click on “recuperar pin” and it will be sent to you by text to the phone number registered on the EDUS.
- Once you have access, click on the top menu “vacunas”. Here, the vaccines you have received will be listed.
- The vaccination certificate and QR code, once issued, will be found here as well.
