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Updated July 21st, 2021 at 20:43 IST

France rolls out COVID passport to enter cinemas, museums as coronavirus infections surge

Face masks will no longer be needed in the venues where the health pass is in use unless ordered by the local authorities.

Reported by: Kamal Joshi
Emmanuel Macron
Image: AP | Image:self
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To deal with the recent surge in novel coronavirus cases, the French Government has introduced a COVID-19 health passport. The people who want to visit stadiums, cinema halls, museums or other cultural events will have to show proof of vaccination or immunity starting Wednesday, 21 July 2021.

The health passport introduced by Emmanuel Macron's government is mandatory for all events with more than 50 people before it expands to restaurants and cafes in August. The pass will also be required on buses, trains and planes.

Face masks will no longer be needed in the venues where the health pass is in use unless ordered by the local authorities. The scheme was introduced to avoid another COVID-19 wave in France, where the infection cases have started to soar due to the highly transmissible Delta variant.

On Tuesday, French Health Minister Oliver Veran warned that there is a sudden jump in COVID-19 cases in the country.

"That means we increased the spread of the virus by about 150 per cent last week, we've never seen that before," Veran told parliament as he started debating stricter regulations in order to encourage inoculation.

Protest in France against health pass

Barely a week after the health passport was announced, the scheme has already come under strain. On Saturday, more than 1,00,000 people, holding anti-vaccination placards, protested against the scheme. 

Several Macron critics also accused that the scheme would discriminate against those who oppose vaccines.

Macron believed that the vaccine is the best way to tackle COVID-19 and put the country back on the path of normalcy. He is also encouraging people to get vaccinated.

Millions of French citizens booked vaccination slots after Macron's address last week. Reportedly, over 37 million people have already received at least one dose of the vaccine.

French Prime Minister Jean Castex said that by the end of July, 40 million people will be vaccinated against coronavirus with at least one dose.

(With ANI Inputs)

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Published July 21st, 2021 at 20:43 IST

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