French president orders COVID-19 health pass for restaurants, cafes

French President Emmanuel Macron this week announced new COVID-19 rules for shoppers, restaurant patrons and travelers.

Those individuals, as well as people who visit hospitals, must now present a COVID-19 pass showing they have been vaccinated, tested negative recently or are recovering from the virus.

The announcement came during a televised address in which Macron emphasized the importance of getting vaccinated, especially as the more transmissible delta variant spreads quickly around the world, The Associated Press reported.

Macron also announced that all health care workers in France must be fully vaccinated by Sept. 15, or they will be suspended without pay.

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis recently made a similar announcement, mandating that health care workers must be inoculated beginning Sept. 1 or face suspension, according to the AP. He also ordered nursing home workers to get vaccinated immediately.

About 40 percent of France’s population has been fully vaccinated as of Sunday, according to Sortir Paris. By comparison, 48 percent of the U.S. population has been fully inoculated as of Monday, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“The country is facing a strong resumption of the epidemic touching all our territory,” Macron said on Monday.

When warning about the possibility of another wave of COVID-19 hospitalizations in August, the French president said: “The equation is simple. The more we vaccinate, the less space we leave this virus to circulate.”

Macron added that the government will declare a medical state of emergency beginning on Tuesday, which will give authorities more discretion to mandate restrictions.