The French parliament has passed the latest Covid-19 restrictions as the country fights its fifth and highest wave of new coronavirus infections. Regardless of large protests arguing against the measures, France will require a certificate of vaccination for people to enter restaurants and other public spaces, The Guardian and Reuters report.
Legislators in the lower house of parliament voted 215 in favour to 58 against on Sunday, January 5, paving the way for the law to enter force in the coming days. The new law, which had a difficult way through the parliament, with opposition parties finding some of its provisions too strict, will require people to have a certificate of vaccination to enter public places such as restaurants, cafes, cinemas and long-distance trains.
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The current restrictions in France require unvaccinated people to enter such places with the results of a recent negative Covid-19 test. Nearly 78% of the population is fully vaccinated, according to the health ministry on Saturday, January 16.
Thousands of anti-vaccine protesters demonstrated in Paris and some other cities on Saturday against the law, yet their numbers were down sharply from the week before. France is tackling its fifth Covid-19 wave, with daily new cases regularly hitting record levels above 300,000. However, the number of intensive care admissions is much lower than in the first wave in 2020, The Guardian and Reuters report.
France to impose restaurant and transport restrictions on unvaccinated population
