The French government wants the corona pass to apply from January 15 only to people who have been fully vaccinated or have recovered from a corona infection, and no longer to people who have tested negative. The corona pass would thus become a vaccination pass, Prime Minister Castex announced in a speech. Parliament still has to approve the so-called 2G measure.
“In places where the pass is necessary, you have to show that you have been vaccinated to get in,” Castex said. This concerns, for example, the catering industry or cultural institutions. “A negative test result is no longer accepted.”
Castex also announced new corona measures due to the omikron variant. The French government fears that there could be 250,000 new corona infections per day at the beginning of January. On Saturday, France reported more than 100,000 new cases, the highest number since the start of the pandemic.
Most measures will take effect on January 3. People are obliged to work from home at least three days a week, if that is possible with their work, and they are also no longer allowed to eat or drink in public transport, cinemas, theaters and sports complexes. Furthermore, people are obliged to sit in cafes and bars.
Mouth caps in the outdoors
The number of people allowed to be at a meeting will be reduced to a maximum of 5000 people outside and 2000 people inside. This also applies to sports complexes. City authorities may also make face masks mandatory in the open air in city centers. The measures will apply for at least three weeks.
From tomorrow morning, three months after their last shot, the French can already claim a booster shot against the virus, Castex announced. That is now four months and was previously five months. Moreover, Minister Véran of Health does not rule out the possibility of a fourth injection.
The French government says that the reopening of the schools, scheduled for January 3, will continue. There will be no curfew, Castex said.
Forged corona passes
The prime minister also announced that tougher action will be taken against people who fraud with the corona pass. Last week, French police reported that 182,000 counterfeit copies have been found since the pass’s introduction last July.
Police have deployed hundreds of people to track down fake passes.
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