PARIS (Reuters) – France will pass a law transforming its health pass needed to exercise some professions and to go to cinemas and bars into a “vaccination” pass in the first half of January, government spokesman Gabriel Attal told journalists on Tuesday.
“The wave awaiting us will be high,” Attal said, adding that the Omicron variant accounts for 20% of new COVID-19 infections in France and is spreading rapidly, particularly in the Paris region.
The main aim of a vaccination pass will be to do away with the option of obtaining a valid certificate by testing negative instead of having the jabs.
In contrast to other European governments, Attal on Tuesday ruled out further restrictions, saying that the country had the means to battle the next wave of cases with its vaccination campaign and mass testing.
(Reporting by Tassilo Hummel; Editing by Alison Williams)
