Government’s announcement of strict Covid-19 rules has not gone down well with the people of France.
France has rolled out a new Coronavirus (COVID-19) health pass today, i.e., Wednesday, July 21, 2021, amidst a surge in the number of infections, as fear of fourth wave looms over the country.
People wanting to visit cinemas, museums, sports matches and other cultural venues will now be required to show proof of vaccination against COVID-19, a negative test, or recent recovery from the virus. This is mandatory for all places where more than 50 people are expected to be present.
The health pass will be extended to patrons of restaurants, cafés and shopping centres from August 2021. But this extension is subject to parliamentary approval.
The health pass is a part of new measures taken by the President of France – Emmanuel Macron to control the spread of the virus. This comes after France reported 18,181 fresh cases and 33 casualties in the past 24 hours. This was compared to fewer than 7,000 cases a day last week, a surge of 150%, as the highly contagious Delta variant spreads throughout the country. Besides, Macron has also announced compulsory vaccination of healthcare workers from September 15, 2021.
Speaking on the occasion, the Health Minister of France – Olivier Veran said, “That means we have an increase in the spread of the virus of around 150 percent in the last week: we’ve never seen that.”
Under the new health pass rule, holders of the document can remove their masks once indoors. However, the epidemiologists have criticized this loosening of rules of taking off the masks indoor. Businesses which fail to check that their clients have the health pass will eventually face fines that could total thousands of Euros, but the Government said there would be a grace period, to give everyone time to adapt to the new system.
Government’s announcement of strict rules has not gone down well with the people of France. They feel that Macron’s plan infringes on the freedom of choice of those who do not want to be vaccinated against COVID-19. Last week, more than 114,000 people took to the streets of France, denouncing a “dictatorship” that discriminates against those who oppose receiving a shot. As per the Interior Ministry, more than 137 marches were held across the country, of which 18,000 were in Paris.
Despite this huge opposition, as per an Ipsos-Sopra Steria poll, more than 60% of people in France agreed with mandatory vaccination for health workers, as well as a requirement for a health pass in some public places. As of now, some 56% people have received their first jab and 45% have been fully vaccinated.
