Premier Legault touts vaccine passport mobile app on launch day
Posted August 25, 2021 4:45 pm.
Last Updated August 26, 2021 10:48 am.
MONTREAL (CityNews) ─ Quebec Premier Francois Legault touted the new vaccine passport mobile application on Wednesday as he continued to urge people to get their COVID-19 shots.
In Quebec City for cabinet meetings, Legault demonstrated how the free VaxiCode app is easy to use.
“It’s really quick, I just did it,” he said. “It took me a few minutes. It says I’m vaccinated.”
The smartphone application launched in Quebec on Wednesday through the Apple store. It will be available in the coming days for Android users.
As of Sept. 1, Quebecers aged 13 or older will have to present their QR code in the VaxiCode app to access non-essential services like going to a bar, restaurant or movie theatre, or to play team sports.
The app lights up green or red, depending on the person’s vaccination status.
Meanwhile VaxiCode Verif is for businesses and event organizers who need to scan QR codes. That information isn’t retained by the app. It disappears in a matter of seconds, according to government officials.
Customers will need to show identification to cross-reference with their QR code.
There will be some leniency in the first two weeks, but penalties will apply starting Sept. 15. Anyone who commits fraud in connection with the vaccine passport could face fines, ranging from $1,000 to $6,000 and possible criminal charges.
The government says inspectors will be checking non-essential businesses for compliance and customers can also report those that aren’t checking QR codes. A business could be shut down if they don’t comply.
Quebec is closing in on 77 per cent of the population fully vaccinated.
Dr. Horacio Arruda, Quebec’s public health director, said Tuesday that in rare cases where somebody can’t get vaccinated for medical reasons, their doctors can fill out a document and the person will be issued a QR code to access non-essential services.
For a full list of activities that require a vaccine passport (French only), click here.
For more about the vaccine passport, click here.
