Bars, restaurants, cinemas, hospitals, transport: Despite street protests, the Health Pass makes its debut on Monday for a week, breaking for the first time in the daily life of the French.
Faced with the need to refuse clients who didn’t have them, pros start the day with apprehension. “And if we say no to customers without a pass, what will be their reaction? “, concerns David Forton, manager of the “Saint Croix” cafe in Bordeaux, referring to “a plague” that would “slow down service and require hiring someone else to check”.
In the words of Transport Minister Jean-Baptiste, the government assures us that tolerance will be the order of the day for the first days after the application of the pass, which is regarded as an “incentive for vaccination” and “preservation of liberty”. In this way jibbery with the aim of being able to avoid the new curfew and imprisonment.
Already in several European countries and in France from July 21 in places of culture, the health pass takes the form of a QR code that must be presented to visit restaurants, movies, museums, theaters and long-distance transport. .
It may also be required for prefectural decision in shops over 20,000 m2, but will not be requested by the general practitioner. On the other hand, it would be in hospitals, “but in no case should it be a hindrance to access to useful and urgent care”, underlined by Health Minister Olivier Veran on Sunday.
A valid health pass testifies to recovery from disease through a complete vaccination schedule, a positive test certificate of at least 11 days and less than 6 months, or a negative test of “less than 72 hours”.
Wearing masks will no longer be mandatory in places where it is applicable.
– “massive” check –
Beware of fraudsters. Those presenting a pass “that is not theirs are heavily fined” and “incorrectly used passes will be blacklisted and rendered unusable”, said Secretary of State for Digital Cedric O. warned.
In transport, the controls would be “massive”, promises Jean-Baptiste Jabbari, but “not systematic” with regard to the number of daily passengers (400,000) on the trains.
A person using a relative’s pass will be fined 750 euros (fixed at 135 euros if it is paid early), an amount which can be up to 1,500 euros in the event of a repeat offense within 15 days Will increase
The police, in uniform and civilian clothing, shall control establishments whose access is subject to the presentation of a pass, targeted in priority urban and tourist areas.
A professional who does not enforce the required controls will face a fine of up to 9,000 euros and one year in prison if this violation is found “more than three times during a period of 45 days”.
The introduction of the health pass is disputed on the street: about 237,000 people marched peacefully on Saturday for the fourth consecutive weekend, according to interior ministry data.
Former FN Florian Philippote, the chairman of the party’s post-Frexit Les Patriots, which has made the fight against the executive’s health strategy a hobby, called on Sunday to “intensify” the mobilization.
– Health Defense Council –
Within the executive, confident that the target of 50 million first-time vaccinations has been met by the end of August, Emmanuel Macron’s speech on 12 July is said to have fueled the campaign, which led to more than 6.8 million appointments. First injection since then. It broadcast twelve videos on the social network in early August answering questions from the French on vaccination, which have been viewed more than 60 million times.
On Wednesday, he will chair a healthcare council by videoconference, where it will be specifically about the injection of the third dose of the vaccine to the most vulnerable at the start of the school year.
According to Public Health France, 44,739,322 people have received at least one injection (ie 66.4% of the total population) and 37,231,075 people now have a full immunization program (i.e., of the total population). 55.2%).
Faced with a dire situation in Guadeloupe and Martinique, where the saturation of hospitals has prompted the government to send reinvestments, Foreign Minister Sebastian Lecorn will be on site from Tuesday.
The number of hospitalized patients continues to rise across France, with about 8,700 patients (+25 percent in three weeks) listed on Sunday, including 1,556 in critical care services (+81%).