Lithuania has suspended its use of vaccination certificates despite its sustained high level of Covid infections. From Saturday, it is no longer necessary to show the so-called green passport for vaccinated or recovered persons wanting to visit restaurants, retailers and cultural and entertainment venues. At the same time, the requirement for people in certain professions – including health and education – to test regularly for the coronavirus has been dropped.
The Lithuanian government has brought in some new regulations, however, including one ordering that each customer have 15 square meters of space within any retail establishment. Stricter rules still apply in restaurants and at events. Mandatory masks, social-distancing and hygiene regulations remain in force, however.
According to the Health Ministry, the vaccination certificate initially played an important role in containing the coronavirus pandemic. With the spread of the particularly contagious Omicron variant, however, there is a risk of infection for both the unvaccinated and the vaccinated or recovered, meaning that the effectiveness of vaccination certificates is considerably reduced.
The government did not rule out reintroducing the green passport should the need arise. Lithuania introduced the green passport in digital form in May 2021. Since then, the Covid-19 certificate has reportedly been downloaded by more than 2 million people at least once and more than 13 million times in total.
In Lithuania, as in many other countries, the Omicron variant of the coronavirus is on the rise. More than 740,000 of Lithuania’s almost 3-million-strong population have been recorded since the beginning of the pandemic, while, to date, just more than 7,900 people have died from the virus.
