lsquare

Awesome!

Do you have any tips or advice for me? I'm only going to have at most 2.5 full days in Johannesburg before I leave.

anabolism

Tips or advice regarding what?

Where are you staying?

I've done a walking tour of Jo'burg and found it enjoyable and informative. Nelson Mandella Square in Sandton is nice (we're fond of the Butcher Shop and Grill) restaurant). The Gautrain is a good way to get to/from the airport, if it stops near where you're staying.

Swanhunter

Arrived yesterday. No issues with my vaccination cert saved as PDF on my phone. The paper health declaration is still required - QR handed this out at DOH but other carriers may not so prudent to print in advance.

The paper declaration was collected before entering the immigration queue - at the same time as a quick temp check - and vaccination cert checked in the queue itself.

The relaxation of outdoor mask, and less focus on anti bac hand gel everytime you enter an indoor space is making the trip more enjoyable than January!

jsnydcsa

Possible antigen testing for inbound into ORT/JNB

https://www.tourismupdate.co.za/arti...rival-or-tambo

"SATSA has received several reports of international travellers, especially travellers arriving from the United States, arriving at OR Tambo International Airport (ORTIA) only to find they have to undergo a rapid antigen test despite showing proof of vaccination.
The reason for the test requirement appears to be that most travellers from the US do not have a QR code on their vaccination certificates, according to SATSA. This is leading to lengthy delays at border control and comes at an additional cost to travellers.
[...]
"

T8191

Oh, great! Our JE vaxx certificates (3 each!) don’t have QR codes either. Hello, ZA … one QR code system is NOT universal. And there was me just about to suggest to iWife that we book for CPT in December!

Is this an JNB speciality, or does it apply to CPT as well?

cheltzel

I am wondering what would happen if you uploaded a copy of your vaccination certificate to PanaBIOS? I believe you can upload a US CDC certificate (no QR code) and if accepted it presents it as a digital certificate with a QR code.

No personal experience with it. I have just been researching it as it is required for our upcoming trip to Zambia thi August.

danpeake

I've also read (but don't have personal experience) that one can create a free profile at Kaiser Permanente in Washington and submit their vaccine record to get the QR code.

jsnydcsa

Yeah, I was going to type something similar in my original post. But, thought the better of it as I really don't know how QR codes, much less QR code verification systems "work"

cheltzel

I believe it is essentially a scannable symbol that translates into the URL of the displayable document (either an image or a PDF). If the web system hosting the image/document is something "official" I am hoping it will be accepted by immigration.

anabolism

It's a compressed encoding of arbitrary text. Most often, the text is a URL. For "official" documents of various forms, the QR encodes the text contents of the document, typically with a JSON Web Signature to validate that the text was generated by an "official" source and is unchanged from what was signed. The JSON Web Signature has a URL to the X.509 certificate of the signer. It's up to whomever is reading/verifying the document to decide if the X.509 certificate is from a trusted/accepted source. For example, while a government or private entity or random person off the street can issue a vaccine certificate and add a QR code proving they signed it, if someone presented me with a certificate, in order to accept the certificate as valid, I'd pull the certificate of the signer and check the entity name against some kind of list of valid sources. Given that the universe of valid sources is too large for anyone to keep proper track of, there's bound to be lots of places that either accept anything (no matter how bogus the signer) or don't accept valid ones because the signer isn't on their list.

iker

I am traveling in business class in February 2023 from ZRH to JNB on LX282. The flight arrives at 10:20 in the morning. I am interested in connecting to an Airlink or South African flight that departs at 12:15 for Cape Town. Is this a reasonable amount of time to clear customs, collect luggage and make the connection? Is SA Airlink part of the Star Alliance? If so, could I receive boarding cards and have luggage checked all the way through. Thank you for your responses. They are kindly appreciated.

cheltzel

That gets back to my post about the potential for presenting a PanaBIOS vaccination certificate. It will match all the requirements that you just posted. Actually I have a fair amount of experience using x.509 certs on Linux hosts for my former career with corporate computer asset management. I even ended up using self-signed certs that would go through most processes without a hint of a security warning.

And, as you said, "It's up to whomever is reading/verifying the document to decide if the X.509 certificate is from a trusted/accepted source".

jsnydcsa

The acronym VAMS (below) refers to the US CDC Vaccine Administration Management System (VAMS). Unfortunately, to my untrained look at the site, it does NOT produce a QR coded "proof" of Covid vaccination. And, per the site "Please note that if your vaccinations have not been scheduled and administered through the VAMS system, we won't be able to provide you with a vaccination certification or vaccine verification QR code at this time." (see, https://guest.vams.cdc.gov/?lang=en ).

-----------


From: <[email protected]>

Reply-To: <[email protected]>

Date: Thursday, May 12, 2022 at 10:35 AM

Subject: Message for U.S. Citizens: Entry To South Africa and COVID-19 Regulations - Update 12 May 2022



Location: South Africa, countrywide



Event: The South African Government has recently informed several airlines that they will no longer accept the CDC COVID vaccination "white card" as proof of vaccination. All travelers should confirm they can access a QR code that shows evidence of being fully-vaccinated, as available through VAMS or other medical providers; Or carry proof of a negative result of a PCR COVID test within 72 hours of travel; OR proof of recovery.



Getting a QR Code or Digital Copy of Your COVID-19 Vaccination Card:

Some vaccination providers and health departments may offer you access to a QR code or digital copy of your COVID-19 vaccination card in addition to giving you a physical CDC COVID-19 Vaccination card. Contact your vaccination provider or local health department to learn if a digital copy of your card will be made available to you.



The requirement for either a valid vaccination certificate or a negative COVID-19 test does not apply to children under five years of age.



Actions to Take:



· Review the Embassy's COVID-19 page <https://za.usembassy.gov/covid-19-information-2/>.

· Enroll in Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) <https://step.state.gov/step/> to receive updates.



Assistance:





* United States Embassy to the Republic of South Africa

(Note: The Embassy does not provide consular services.)

877 Pretorius Street, Arcadia, Pretoria

Tel: 012-431-4000 (outside South Africa: +27-12-431-4000)

jsnydcsa

1) I and family were vaccinated in a state in the USA that produced - via a state administered Covid vaccination database - a printed record of the individuals vaccinations/boosters. I assume the pharmacy that administered the dose had logged each person's dose/shot into the system on our behalf. Last I checked, the printed document from my state did NOT include a QR code.

2) Today, as all the hubbub above was going on, on a whim, I went BACK to my state's state administered Covid vaccination database and checked my and family members' results. Now, the printed record of the individuals vaccinations/boosters includes a QR code.

3) Now, can someone at a folding table in JNB read said barcode? I have no idea, But, my proof of vaccination now has a QR code. So, someone is now "happy" and hopefully will let me pass.

4) I had initially thought about creating my own QR code (there are a number of sites that let you do it) to "link" to the aforementioned state administered Covid vaccination database's "results" page with my vaccination record. I would then copy and paste said QR code onto the printed record of the individuals' vaccinations/boosters (see #1 above). But, that didn't seem to work b/c the state administered Covid vaccination database search function can't be bypassed (e.g. you have to search every time to pull up a result) and, in some cases, the search presents a verification captcha before displaying the results.

5) I suppose you could create the aforementioned QR code yourself and paste it onto an official printed record of the individuals vaccinations/boosters. That QR code could link to Google Docs or some other "bland" web site that holds a PDF of the official printed record of the individuals vaccinations/boosters. If someone was blindly scanning the QR code with a phone (are they using some sort of special "scanner" in JNB) they'd be directed to the site showing the official record.

IntrepidAfrican2

if the inbound is in time, it’s enough. Immigration will be quick if you beat the inbound EK flight. Bags have been usually quick my trips in the last two months. Customs rarely check people. Upstairs to Terminal B departures and then check-in at Airlink will close at 1130.

You can’t check bags through (govt /airport regs). Airlink not Star Alliance anyway.