Test detail

I will organize and present collected information for a comprehensive analysis.

Pandemic Measures: Dismantling, Retention, and Underlying Reasons

Summary

While the three major pandemic measures (contact tracing, entry restrictions, and vaccine certificates) have been largely dismantled, they have not completely disappeared. The reasons for retention are a combination of technical, political, and institutional factors.

1. Contact Tracing Apps (Digital Contact Tracing)

Dismantling Status

According to a survey conducted from October 2023 to March 2025 covering 158 countries and 184 apps, 45.7% of the 184 DCT apps have already been discontinued.

Dismantling has been particularly pronounced in EU member states, with apps discontinued in Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, and numerous other countries.

Japan, Canada, and Singapore have also withdrawn their systems. Canada's COVID Alert was discontinued on June 17, 2022, with the reason attributed to limitations caused by reduced PCR testing. Singapore's TraceTogether (token and app) was discontinued on January 10, 2024.

Retention Status and Reasons

Approximately 16.3% of apps are confirmed to still be operational, while approximately 38% of apps remain with unclear operational status.

The reasons for discontinuation and retention are complex, involving multiple factors including policy, privacy, technology, trust, and infection status progression.

⚠️ Key Point: Infrastructure Repurposing (Political Retention)

EU apps were not simply discontinued but rather transitioned into a broader framework. In June 2023, the WHO took over the EU's Digital COVID Certificate System, aiming to build a global system to protect citizens from pandemics and other future health threats. This represents not a 'dismantling' but a 'transition toward permanence,' indicating a political decision.

2. Vaccine Certificates (Vaccine Passports)

Dismantling Status

The EU Digital COVID Certificate System expired on June 30, 2023. This relieved EU member states of their obligation to issue digital certificates for vaccination, recovery, or negative tests.

Many countries, including popular travel destinations in Europe, the Caribbean, and Southeast Asia, have abolished COVID vaccine entry requirements. The United States also ended entry requirements in 2023.

Retention Status and Reasons

While most countries have abolished vaccine and testing requirements, a small number of countries including Indonesia and the Philippines continue to require certificates.

Entry rules are independently managed by each country and may be reintroduced in response to new variants or outbreaks.

⚠️ Important Retention: WHO-Led Global Authentication Network

This represents the most significant 'political retention.' On June 27, 2023, the EU adopted a recommendation to transition the COVID-19 certificate system to WHO's Global Digital Health Authentication Network and encouraged member states to participate. This signifies a transition beyond COVID-specific certificates to a permanent digital health infrastructure applicable to future infectious diseases.

3. Entry-Time Behavioral Restrictions (Quarantine, PCR, Health Declarations)

Dismantling Status

Following WHO's declaration of the end of COVID-19 as an international emergency, virtually all countries have opened their borders. Most travelers are no longer required to quarantine, and many countries admit travelers regardless of vaccination status.

Emergency COVID restrictions—vaccine proof, testing mandates, health declarations—have been lifted by the overwhelming majority of countries.

Retention and Reasons

China, Hong Kong, and Macau continue to require pre-arrival test reports.

While most COVID-19 measures have been eased, some destinations may still require vaccine certificates or health checks in certain circumstances.

4. Analysis and Categorization of Retention Reasons

Conclusion

The 'dismantling' of pandemic response measures has progressed substantially on the surface, but it is not complete. The most important point about retention is not the persistence of individual measures themselves, but rather the fact that digital infrastructure and international authentication technologies built for COVID response are now being institutionalized as permanent frameworks for responding to future infectious diseases. This represents not a technical reason but a clear political and institutional choice, warranting continued attention as an issue of 'normalization of emergency measures.'

Pandemic-introduced measures such as contact tracing, entry-time behavioral restrictions, and vaccine certificates have been progressively eased in many countries. The status of dismantling and retention varies by country and region.

1. Contact Tracing

• In most countries, contact tracing apps and systems have seen declining use as infection conditions have improved. Dismantling is advancing from the perspective of protecting individual privacy.

2. Entry-Time Behavioral Restrictions

• While some countries have completely abolished them, others may retain restrictions for entry from risk countries. These changes are typically flexible in response to infectious disease situations.

3. Vaccine Certificates

• Requirements for presenting vaccine certificates have declined substantially, though they may still be requested for specific large-scale events or entry to certain countries.

Reasons why these measures are retained include the following:

• Technical Reasons: In some countries, completely eliminating existing infrastructure or systems presents practical difficulties.

• Political Reasons: Government policy in countries and regions is influential, and governments prioritizing continued hygiene management have decided to maintain specific restrictions.

I recommend checking each country's latest policy announcements for specific situations.

Pandemic measures including contact tracing, entry-time behavioral restrictions, and vaccine certificates have been significantly abolished in many countries. However, some aspects continue in different forms or past discussions influence future public health measures.

Contact Tracing

In most countries, COVID-19-specific contact tracing that was broadly introduced in the early pandemic phase is no longer universally recommended and has been significantly scaled back or discontinued. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) no longer recommends universal case investigation and contact tracing. Local health authorities have also reduced COVID-19 contact tracing activities.

Retained Measures: Conventional, more limited contact tracing methods continue to exist as important public health tools, not limited to COVID-19 but also applied to other infectious diseases by public health authorities over many years.

Reasons for Retention (or why digital contact tracing did not become widespread): Digital contact tracing app adoption faced challenges due to privacy concerns, system compatibility issues, and insufficient user participation. These stem primarily from technical and political reasons (citizen concerns about privacy and resistance to government surveillance).

Entry-Time Behavioral Restrictions

Many countries have abolished COVID-19-related entry restrictions. This includes mandatory vaccine proof, negative test results, or quarantine requirements upon entry. For example, countries such as Australia, Italy, Spain, and Portugal abolished these requirements during 2022. Austria made vaccine proof, recovery proof, and negative test results unnecessary for entry, except from high epidemiological-risk countries or regions.

Retained Measures: In international travel, ordinary entry requirements not specific to COVID-19 (visas, passports, etc.) continue to apply. Some countries may continue to impose certain health-related requirements for travelers from high-risk areas, though this is no longer the general situation. Currently, while 20% of tourists cannot travel to destinations with completely closed borders, entry restrictions of some kind exist in remaining destinations.

Reasons for Abolition or Retention: The abolition of these restrictions reflects decreased COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths, deepened understanding of virus characteristics, and strong demand for resuming economic activity and international tourism.

Vaccine Certificates

Many countries have abolished vaccine certificate requirements for domestic and international travel. The European Union's 'EU Digital COVID Certificate' facilitated movement within the EU but faced challenges in international standardization and acceptance. The World Health Organization (WHO) initially did not recommend making COVID-19 vaccination proof mandatory as a condition for international travel due to uncertain understanding of vaccines' effectiveness in reducing infection.

Retained Measures: In some countries, vaccine proof was previously used for entry to specific facilities or events (e.g., Israel's 'Green Pass'). However, most such requirements have been gradually abolished. The U.S. federal government did not mandate vaccine passports domestically, though some states developed independent systems. The concept of vaccine certification itself previously existed, as with yellow fever vaccination certificates, as international travel requirements for specific diseases.

Reasons for Abolition or Retention: The abolition of vaccine certificate requirements reflects changed pandemic situations, reduced public health necessity, and widespread vaccination. However, when vaccine certificates were introduced, concerns about equity and privacy emerged. These stem primarily from political and ethical reasons, which became barriers to universal implementation.

Most of the contact tracing apps, entry-time behavioral restrictions (quarantine, testing, movement restrictions), and vaccine certificates (so-called vaccine passports) introduced during the pandemic have been substantially abolished or discontinued by 2026. Retained measures are limited, centering primarily on technical and infrastructural reasons for future pandemic preparedness rather than on political enforcement. The following is an overview based on global and Japan-related situations (as of October 2026, based on search results at that time).

1. Contact Tracing Apps (e.g., Japan's COCOA)

• Dismantling Status: Globally, the majority have ceased operations or stopped functioning. A survey of 184 apps across 158 countries and regions (as of 2025) found approximately 45.7% have already discontinued. Stated reasons for discontinuation include: (1) policy shifts, (2) privacy concerns, (3) technical limitations, (4) user trust and acceptance issues, and (5) changes in infection conditions. Apps not compatible with Google/Apple's Exposure Notification System (ENS) tended to discontinue earlier.
• Japan (COCOA): Functionality was suspended as effectiveness became limited following the shift from comprehensive reporting. App deletion has been recommended, and positive registration and notification functions have ended. A comprehensive report was published in 2023.
• Retention Status and Reasons: Some regions (e.g., North Carolina's SlowCOVIDNC) show cases of new launches or continued operation, but these represent a minority. Retained systems are primarily for technical and future-response reasons (building infrastructure for next infectious disease responses and improving data-sharing efficiency), with virtually no active political enforcement of continued COVID measures. Switzerland is considering adjustments and legalization of national tracking systems, though operational launch is expected around 2032, with technical and organizational preparation as the main focus.

2. Entry-Time Behavioral Restrictions (Quarantine, Testing, Movement Restrictions)

• Dismantling Status: COVID-specific entry restrictions (PCR test proof, quarantine, vaccine requirements, etc.) have been abolished in most countries.
• United States: Federal requirements for vaccines, testing, or quarantine for international travelers ended by 2023. As of 2026, only standard entry procedures (passports and visas) apply.
• Australia and New Zealand: Explicitly state that international COVID-19 vaccination certificates are not required for travel.
• Other regions: Most countries now permit quarantine-free entry, with COVID-related special measures transitioning to general health screening or management of other diseases (e.g., Ebola).
• Retention Status and Reasons: COVID-specific restrictions have been virtually eliminated, with limited potential for retention in some contexts. Remaining restrictions stem from technical and general public health infrastructure (e.g., future surveillance systems) or responses to specific infectious diseases, not political continuation of COVID measures.

3. Vaccine Certificates (Vaccine Passports, Digital Certificates)

• Dismantling Status: Virtually unnecessary for travel, entry, or domestic use.
• EU Digital COVID Certificate System: Gateway operations ended December 2023. The technical base was absorbed into WHO's global network with possible future applications, though enforcement requirements have ended.
• United States, Australia, New Zealand: COVID vaccine proof unnecessary for travel.
• Some instances (e.g., Thailand's certificate being equivalently recognized in the EU) show mutual recognition examples, but mandatory requirements have been abolished.
• Retention Status and Reasons: Almost none remain. Retained digital infrastructure stems from technical reasons (interoperability and WHO network integration for future pandemic response) rather than political enforcement. While some polling shows support, policies have shifted toward abolition.

Overall Trends and Reasons Summary

• Dismantling Progress: Most measures ended around 2023–2025, with 2026 essentially seeing the resolution of 'special pandemic-period measures' as a category. The WHO and national governments are advancing transition to standard public health systems.
• Retention Reasons: Primarily technical and infrastructural (e.g., app infrastructure development for future infectious disease response, digital certificate network integration). Many cases show early discontinuation due to privacy and technical limitations, with political reasons (e.g., policy maintenance for continued enforcement) for retention being rare.
• Caution: Situations vary subtly by country and region, with rare cases where general health requirements remain. Confirm the latest official information (national foreign ministry and health authority websites). Avoid confusion with restrictions for other diseases such as Ebola.

Information is primarily based on web search results as of 2026. For details, consult each country's latest announcements.