Covid-19: France makes life difficult for unvaccinated

Business has been difficult for restaurateur Sylvain Belaud ever since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, with turnover plummeting by 60% last year.And now the director of the Cafe Francoeur in the Montmartre area in northern Paris will have to face what feels like yet another obstacle on the way back to business as usual.

A "health pass" will soon be required on trains, domestic flights and in long-distance buses, as well as in restaurants and cafes. The pass consists of a QR code on a smartphone or on a piece of paper, and shows that people have been fully vaccinated, hold a recent negative PCR test result or have recently recovered from a Covid-19 infection.

The QR code is already mandatory at cultural venues and its use will be extended on August 9, provided France's highest court of appeal gives its go-ahead. The law will also make a Covid-19 vaccination compulsory for health care workers and those working with vulnerable people. In case of noncompliance, staff are to be suspended without pay.

French authorities are implementing the health pass in an attempt to boost vaccination rates and stem a fourth wave of Covid-19, fueled by the highly contagious delta variant. Daily infection rates have exploded in recent weeks, increasing from roughly 3,000 in early July to now over 20,000.The government is aiming to reach collective immunity, which virologists believe can be reached with an immunization rate of 80% to 90% of the entire population.

---DW