UPDATE: France set to enforce Covid health pass in bars, restaurants and trains from August 9th
France's health pass is set to be extended to bars, restaurants and long-distance train and bus travel from August 9th, government spokesperson Gabriel Attal announced on Wednesday afternoon.
The health pass extension bill, which was passed by Parliament on Sunday night, first needs to be approved by the Constitutional Council, which should announce its decision on August 5th.
On August 9th, "the extended health pass will come into effect with, in the beginning, a period of adaptation, of tolerance, of pedagogy" of around one week, Attal said in a press conference.
Gabriel Attal (@GabrielAttal) annonce que l'entrée en vigueur de la loi sanitaire est prévue pour 9 août pic.twitter.com/zeXoFhdvmp
— BFMTV (@BFMTV) July 28, 2021
In his July 12th address to the nation, President Emmanuel Macron announced that passengers on long distance train and bus journeys - as well as people entering bars, restaurants, cafés, hospitals and nursing homes - would need to show the health pass "from the beginning of August".
The pass has been required in culture and leisure venues holding more than 50 people since July 21st. This applies to theatres, cinemas, libraries, theme parks, concert halls, festivals, swimming pools or leisure centres, museums and monuments.
Speaking to BFM earlier on Wednesday, transport minister Jean-Baptiste Djebbari had already suggested the health pass extension would take place between August 7th and 10th.
He also provided more details about how the pass will apply to train passengers.
"For internal flights, and for long-distance trains, meaning TGVs, intercités and night trains, you will need to show a health pass," Djebbari said. Checks will mainly be carried out in stations, before and after travelling, but there will also be "random checks" on board the trains.
READ ALSO Health passport: What changes in France in August?
"We're going to try to do it in the most fluid and operational way possible in order to have a good rate of checks, and at the same time avoid making passengers' lives difficult," Djebbari said. He added there would not be "systematic" checks, "in the same way that, during the curfew, there were not systematic checks on people who were going out."
The pass sanitaire, as health passports are known in France, proves that the bearer has either been fully vaccinated against Covid-19, has already recovered from the virus having tested positive more than eleven days and less than six months ago, or has received a negative test result in the past 48 hours.
Djebbari also announced that the SNCF will reimburse travellers who test positive before they are supposed to leave. "The same will apply for planes," he said.
Passengers are currently able to receive a refund on train tickets by cancelling up to three days before departure, but this policy is set to be modified to account for those who are not vaccinated and who will therefore need to take a PCR or antigen test 48 hours before travelling.
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The health pass extension bill, which was passed by Parliament on Sunday night, first needs to be approved by the Constitutional Council, which should announce its decision on August 5th.
On August 9th, "the extended health pass will come into effect with, in the beginning, a period of adaptation, of tolerance, of pedagogy" of around one week, Attal said in a press conference.
Gabriel Attal (@GabrielAttal) annonce que l'entrée en vigueur de la loi sanitaire est prévue pour 9 août pic.twitter.com/zeXoFhdvmp
— BFMTV (@BFMTV) July 28, 2021
In his July 12th address to the nation, President Emmanuel Macron announced that passengers on long distance train and bus journeys - as well as people entering bars, restaurants, cafés, hospitals and nursing homes - would need to show the health pass "from the beginning of August".
The pass has been required in culture and leisure venues holding more than 50 people since July 21st. This applies to theatres, cinemas, libraries, theme parks, concert halls, festivals, swimming pools or leisure centres, museums and monuments.
Speaking to BFM earlier on Wednesday, transport minister Jean-Baptiste Djebbari had already suggested the health pass extension would take place between August 7th and 10th.
He also provided more details about how the pass will apply to train passengers.
"For internal flights, and for long-distance trains, meaning TGVs, intercités and night trains, you will need to show a health pass," Djebbari said. Checks will mainly be carried out in stations, before and after travelling, but there will also be "random checks" on board the trains.
READ ALSO Health passport: What changes in France in August?
"We're going to try to do it in the most fluid and operational way possible in order to have a good rate of checks, and at the same time avoid making passengers' lives difficult," Djebbari said. He added there would not be "systematic" checks, "in the same way that, during the curfew, there were not systematic checks on people who were going out."
The pass sanitaire, as health passports are known in France, proves that the bearer has either been fully vaccinated against Covid-19, has already recovered from the virus having tested positive more than eleven days and less than six months ago, or has received a negative test result in the past 48 hours.
Djebbari also announced that the SNCF will reimburse travellers who test positive before they are supposed to leave. "The same will apply for planes," he said.
Passengers are currently able to receive a refund on train tickets by cancelling up to three days before departure, but this policy is set to be modified to account for those who are not vaccinated and who will therefore need to take a PCR or antigen test 48 hours before travelling.
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