The French Senate has approved tightening restrictions for unvaccinated people to contain the country’s fifth wave of infections.
Lawmakers late Wednesday gave the green light for rules that meant unvaccinated people would soon be unable to access restaurants and cultural facilities and would be barred from taking long-distance trains and flights.
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So far they have been able to show a negative COVID-19 test. The Senate decided the stricter rules would only apply as long as there were more than 10,000 coronavirus patients in French hospitals.
There were currently around 24,000 patients.
In future, those who have contracted and recovered from COVID-19 would be eligible for a coronavirus passport that allows unrestricted access to facilities and events.
Proof of vaccination would also only apply from the age of 18.
Long-distance travel would still be permitted for exceptional reasons with a test and without vaccination.
Those who have made a vaccination appointment will also temporarily be allowed access to a test.
The Senate rejected implementing tougher penalties and rules that obliged restaurants to check guests’ identification, saying such checks were the responsibility of the police only.
The number of coronavirus infections in France has skyrocketed in recent weeks and the Omicron variant is now dominant in the country.
On Wednesday, almost 362,000 new daily coronavirus infections were registered.
The incidence value, which indicated how many infections were recorded per 100,000 people per week, was at 2,811 at the last count.
