The European Ombudsman received a query from the Catalan Ombudsman concerning the EU Digital COVID Certificate. The Catalan Ombudsman raised concerns that the Certificate is currently not available to those who have recovered from a COVID-19 infection if the infection was confirmed by a rapid antigen test, rather than a nucleic acid amplification test, such as PCR tests.

To this end, the Ombudsman wrote to the European Commission to seek clarification on the current legal situation, as to whether proof of infection by antigen test may be accepted, and whether this could evolve. The Commission replied to the Ombudsman, clarifying the matter, and the Ombudsman closed the inquiry.