The Department of Health has asked the public to be patient as it prepares to officially launch the first version of the Covid-19 vaccination digital certificate later this week.

On Tuesday, various media reported that the digital certificate website went live, without an official announcement from the Department of Health.

Last week, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced that the Department of Health would roll out vaccine certificates which could be used as proof of vaccination for those wishing to travel or access certain establishments.

Departmental spokesperson Foster Mohale said government is currently at the testing phase of the system to troubleshoot all possible glitches ahead of the official launch later this week.

He explained that the system is not officially live for vaccinated members of the public to access and download their certificates.

However, he said the department is aware that a few individuals have successfully managed to access the system and download their vaccination certificates.

Mohale added that a lot of security has been built into the system to protect individuals’ personal data.

“The development and release of fully-fledged Covid-19 vaccination certificates will be phased-in over time. Thus, we request members of the public to exercise patience while we implement the final refinement as we prepare to officially launch the first version of the Covid-19 vaccination digital certificate,” he said.