France: Tightening access conditions with the health pass

The French government announced today the tightening of access conditions with the health pass, in order to deal with the Omicron variant, “which will become dominant from the beginning of 2022”.

The announcement came after a meeting of the health defense council convened to consider measures ahead of the fifth wave of Covid-19 and the highly contagious Omicron variant.

The Omicron variant, whose dispersion rate is “rapidly around us in Europe”, “will spread very rapidly to a degree that will become dominant by the beginning of 2022” in France, Prime Minister Jean Castex announced.

Therefore, the health pass will be converted at the beginning of the year into a “vaccination pass”, which can only be activated if the holder has been fully vaccinated (or has recovered from Covid) and has received a booster dose and not now with a simple negative test.

“From now on, only vaccination will be valid on the pass,” he said after a meeting of the health council.

Demonstration of the sanitary pass is requested, among others, in restaurants, shopping malls, entertainment venues, museums.

The measure will be the subject of a bill that will be presented to the French National Assembly in early January, which will also include the desire to “tighten the conditions of control and sanctions against counterfeit passages,” said Jean Castex.

“It is no longer acceptable for some millions of French people to refuse to be vaccinated would endanger the life of an entire country,” he said.

“We undertake to impose restrictions on the unvaccinated, because the intensive care units of our hospitals are filled, mainly, with unvaccinated people,” Castex explained.

In addition, the interval for administering a booster dose will be reduced to four months from five.

The head of the French government also said that large parties in public places and fireworks will be banned on New Year’s Eve and advised citizens, even vaccinated, to take a self-test before meeting at New Year’s parties.

More than 121,000 people have died from covid-19 in France since the beginning of the pandemic, out of a population of 67 million. Almost 90% of the population over the age of 12 is vaccinated.

President Macron cancels trip to Mali over Covid

Emanuel Macron today canceled a trip to Mali to meet with the interim president and celebrate Christmas with French troops over the Covid-19 crisis, the French presidency has announced.

“This decision was taken for reasons of consistency between the measures announced at national level and the president’s international agenda, and with the concern that our military might not be exposed at a time of deteriorating health in metropolitan France,” the Elysee said.

The announcement of the cancellation was made after the meeting of the health defense council, which was convened to consider new measures in front of the fifth wave of Covid-19 and the Omicron variant.

And Prime Minister Castech is canceling his trip to Jordan

French Prime Minister Jean-Castex has decided to cancel his planned New Year’s trip to Jordan in order to “avoid the introduction of the Omicron variant in our troops on exposed ground,” his office announced today.

Castex was to travel to Jordan to “show the country’s support for French troops participating in Operation Chammal along with French allies present in the area.” He would be accompanied by Armed Forces Minister Florence Parley and government spokesman Gabriel Atal.

Hundreds of French troops are taking part in Operation Chammal, which continues to fight jihadists within the international coalition in Iraq and Syria.

A total of 15,410 people with Covid-19 are currently being treated in France, of which 1,449 patients have been admitted to hospital in the last 24 hours, according to the latest official figures. Nearly 3,000 patients are treated in intensive care units.

SOURCE: ΑΠΕ-ΜΠΕ