Gemotest labs join the EDB’s COVID-19 Free Travel app
Moscow, 1 June 2021. Gemotest, a major laboratory network, has joined the COVID-19 Free Travel app developed by the Eurasian Development Bank’s (EDB) Fund for Digital Initiatives. The results of PCR tests done in Gemotest labs will now be available in the app and can be used by citizens of the relevant countries when crossing borders at the airports of Armenia, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, and Russia.
All 915 Gemotest labs in Russia have been connected to the COVID-19 Free Travel app. This means users can now have their test results in the app from more than 1,050 labs of the network covering Armenia, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, and Russia.
The next step will be connecting Gemotest labs in Tajikistan.
COVID-19 Free Travel is the first project by the EDB Fund for Digital Initiatives. The app is aimed to ensure free and safe movement of citizens between countries in the context of the coronavirus pandemic. The digital solution reduces the risk of spreading the disease and offers a reliable control system at the intercountry level. The app’s architecture is unique in that no personal data is used in the cross-border information exchange. All user-related data are stored only at the national level where the testing took place. This makes it possible to protect personal data in accordance with national laws.
When a person gets tested in the country of departure, he or she should note to the laboratory that he or she wants to have the results in the app. An operator provides a QR code, which should be scanned with the app, and, when the results are ready, the app will display a green QR code.
All data in the app are confidential. A user presenting the QR code to third parties, including regulatory authorities in EAEU countries, makes it possible for them to only verify the green QR code. Hotels, restaurants, and airlines, among others, may also access test results if the user lets them scan the QR code.
The app is available in App Store, Google Play, and AppGallery (Huawei app store). As of the end of May, 238,000 PCR test results were received in the app. A total of 226,400 users installed it on their phones.
Additional Information:
The Eurasian Development Bank (EDB) is an international financial institution promoting integration and development in its member countries – Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Russia, and Tajikistan. The EDB's charter capital totals US $7 billion. The Bank was established in January 2006 and is headquartered in Almaty. The EDB’s portfolio mainly consists of projects with an integration effect in the areas of transport infrastructure, digitalisation, green energy, agriculture, industry, and mechanical engineering.
The Eurasian Development Bank’s Fund for Digital Initiatives was established by the Bank’s Council on 30 June 2020. The Fund’s objective is to assist EDB member states in creating digital transformation tools and practices by integrating their information resources and participating in the development and financing of projects, including those implemented under the Eurasian Economic Union’s Digital Agenda 2025.
Gemotest is a federal high-tech medical company that performs daily tens of thousands of medical tests, from blood tests to testing for genetic abnormalities, for patients from all over Russia. All tests are carried out in-house in five multidisciplinary laboratories. Gemotest tests are recognised by all public health institutions.
Continuous modernisation and the introduction of brand-new methods and equipment from the world’s leading manufacturers make it possible for the laboratories to offer the widest range of tests and make them affordable for most people.
The EDB Media Centre:
Azima Sapargaliyeva +7 (777) 750 00 08 (Almaty)
Sergey Gorbachev +7 (916) 727 22 00 (Moscow)
Chief Manager for Public Relations at Gemotest:
Anna Lisovets
Tel.: +7 (495) 532 13 13, ext. 1138 (W), +7 (915) 406 06 00 (M)