In an interview with "Parisien", the Minister of Health Olivier Véran announces in particular that a negative screening will be valid 72 hours for the unvaccinated, against 48 hours currently.
The minister also says he is confident about the goal of 50 million first-time vaccines by the end of August.
The Minister of Health Olivier Véran announced relaxations in the application of the sanitary pass, which will be extended on Monday to many places, including restaurants, in an interview with Le
Parisien on
Sunday.
Already required in places of culture since the end of July, the health pass takes the form of a QR code testifying to a complete vaccination schedule, the negativity of a Covid-19 test or the recovery from the disease.
From now on, "a negative screening will be valid 72 hours and no longer 48 hours for the unvaccinated", declared the minister, after the fourth Saturday of mobilization of the opponents of the health pass, which gathered 237,000 demonstrators across France.
Another relaxation: "it will be possible to perform self-tests supervised by a health professional, in addition to antigen and PCR tests. These too will be valid for 72 hours".
The pass will not be requested for a visit to a general practitioner, recalled the minister.
On the other hand, "in hospitals, it will be, but in no case should it be a barrier to accessing useful and urgent care," he said.
Véran confident about vaccination
He was also confident about the goal of 50 million first-time vaccines by the end of August. "We are currently carrying out between 300,000 and 400,000 first-time injections per day, and we are already at more than 44 million. We expect a low in the heart of August but the target of 50 million first-time injections made at the end of the month, or more than 85% of the 58 million French people who can be vaccinated, should be reached ".
He estimated that the pass and the progress of vaccination should avoid other curfews and confinements "as in the overseas departments where the situation has become" more than worrying ", due to low vaccination coverage." We are probably going to have to requisition metropolitan caregivers to save lives.
We are there, "he said.
A defense council on Wednesday
In Metropolitan France, "we will have to deprogram care and call staff on leave, urgently reopen resuscitation beds" in the southern departments most affected, he said, specifying that transfers of patients to other regions were also in preparation.
A Health Defense Council will be held on Wednesday by videoconference. In particular, it will discuss the injection of a third dose of vaccine to the most vulnerable people.