Opportunity passport changes: waiving a serological test is being considered, the duration of the passport may be shortened

Approximately a quarter of the members of the Seimas from the opposition also appealed the government’s decision on the passport to the Constitutional Court in October. President Gitan Nauseda is also considering whether to apply to this court for a passport for children. However, until the president appealed and the court accepted the request of the members of the Seimas, the amendments were legal and took effect on Tuesday.

Aistė Čiučiurkaitė, the host of the portal’s 15/15 video show “15/15”, talked about all this with Audrius Ščeponavičius, Director of the Public Health Department of the Ministry of Health, and Edita Žiobienė, Ombudsman for the Protection of the Rights of the Child.

– Mr Ščeponavičius, every such change causes a bit of confusion. Who can no longer get an opportunity passport from today or whose opportunity passport is no longer valid from today?

– For those who have been vaccinated seven months ago or become ill before 28 May, the passport is valid until this date. A booster dose is required to obtain a passport, in which case the passport is generated within a few hours, or a serological test, or a PCR test, and then the passport will be generated for 72 hours. This is the main change. Also, children 12 years and 2 months old, which was not before, were from the age of 16, there is an obligation to have a passport for access to contact activities.

– What are the specific contact activities where a passport was not previously required?

– For adults, the passport is valid for all places where it used to be, nothing changes. Previously, only the opportunity passport was indefinite, and now a time-limited opportunity passport is emerging. That is the only change. The opportunity passport was previously mandatory for children from the age of 16, and now from the age of 12 and 2 months.

– Mrs. E.Žiobiene, the opportunity passport for children from 12 years and 2 months has come into force. How do parents react?

– Parents react very differently. We do not receive calls from satisfied parents. We only get negatives that don’t really reflect all parents. But, of course, we get negative ones.

– What makes parents angry? Is this the order in general, or is there something specific that they care about?