France imposes a vaccine passport to visit the Eiffel Tower, other tourist sites and restaurants are next

NOTo Earlier the Eiffel Tower was reopened to the public that a new hoop materialized through which tourists must jump if they want to visit the iconic monument of Paris. In a new initiative to tackle what the French government calls a “stratospheric” increase in delta-variant infections, individuals must download and use a digital Covid pass to enter French museums, cinemas, sporting venues, festivals, major tourist attractions and more.

A government mandate to use health pass, or “health pass”, took effect yesterday in cultural and tourist places throughout France, as well as all events or places of more than 50 people. Visitors who showed up at the Eiffel Tower without proof of vaccination were offered Covid tests on site.

The TousAntiCovid application is free and available for Android and iPhone users. To use the digital pass, individuals must be able to prove that they are fully vaccinated, have recently tested negative for Covid-19, or have recovered from the disease. The app provides a digital QR code or, if the user prefers, a paper version of the receipt.

From the beginning of August, the obligation of the health passport will be extended to adults in restaurants, cafes, shopping centers, “as well as for travel by plane, train and bus for long-distance journeys”, according to the website of the ‘application.

Adolescents aged 12 to 17 will not be required to use the health pass before August 30.

Critics have accused President Emmanuel Macron’s administration of turning France into a “health dictatorship,” and over the weekend tens of thousands of French people protested the measures at rallies across the country. country.

But French officials do not apologize. “We are in the fourth wave,” Prime Minister Jean Castex said in an appearance yesterday on French news channel TF1. He warned of tougher measures “if the situation exploded” and urged people to get vaccinated to avoid another round of blockages.

Castex said 96% of the 18,000 people in France who tested positive for Covid-19 in the previous 24 hours were not vaccinated.

After dropping throughout the spring, daily infections in France are on the rise again. “We have an increase in the spread of the virus of about 150% last week. We have never seen that, “French Minister of Health Olivier Véran told Parliament yesterday.

About 46% of the French population is fully vaccinated, which is comparable to the United States. There is also a similar level of spread of Covid-19 in the United States and France; both are currently reporting an average of around 14 new cases per 100,000 people every day.