Covid-19: 12-17 year olds exempt from health passes until August 30, Véran announces

Adolescents from 12 to 17 years old are invited to be "vaccinated quickly" but will be exempt from health pass until August 30 in places where it will be required from July 21, announced Tuesday evening the Minister of Health Olivier Véran.

This exemption was decided to "not spoil the holidays of families," said the minister on France 2. "For them the health pass will apply in all places where it applies, from August 30".

Before that, adolescents must "always keep wearing a mask where necessary," said the minister.

"Lift the obligation to wear a mask where the health pass applies"

The health pass (full vaccination, negative test) will soon be extended to most public places: it will be compulsory from July 21 for places of "leisure and culture" bringing together more than 50 people, then in restaurants and transport. long distance from August.

"We will be able to lift the mask constraint eventually" in all the places concerned, said the minister, without giving a date.

"We left to be able to lift the obligation to wear a mask where the health pass applies."

Another category of the population will benefit from an exemption: "employees of establishments which receive from the public".

They "must have received their first dose of vaccination no later than August 1, otherwise from August 30 it will be a test every two days if they want to continue working."

Vaccination considered complete one week after the second dose

Another change announced by the minister: vaccination will be recognized as complete in France, as part of the health pass, one week after the injection of the second dose, and no longer two.

"Attention, at the level of European harmonization work remains to be done, so currently to travel within the EU you have to be vaccinated for two weeks", warned Olivier Véran, however.

Faced with the progression of the Delta variant, which is more contagious, President Emmanuel Macron made the vaccination of caregivers and the like compulsory Monday evening, and decided on a health pass extended to most public places.

These announcements caused a rush of the French on vaccination.

The daily record of vaccinations in France against Covid-19 was broken on Tuesday with 792,339 injections counted at 6 p.m., announced Prime Minister Jean Castex.