Lower House of French parliament approves bill to enact stricter vaccine pass measures

Paris [France] January 15 (ANI/ Sputnik) : France's National Assembly has adopted on second reading a bill to toughen vaccine passes across the country amid the ongoing increase in the number of COVID-19 cases.
"Strengthening the means of combating the sanitary crisis and changing the public health code. The National Assembly adopted the bill on a new reading," the lower house wrote on Twitter.
According to the bill, a vaccine pass will be required when visiting restaurants, cafes, bars, cultural institutions, as well as on long-distance trains. The document will be issued only to those vaccinated against COVID-19. QR code will no longer be given to those who recovered from the virus, or have a negative test result.
The house ratified the bill with the amendments by 185 votes in favor, 69 against and eight abstentions.
The text is now to be considered by the Senate until the end of the day. It is expected to receive final approval from the lower house on Sunday.
In late December 2021, the French authorities announced the preparation of a bill that would replace sanitary passes with vaccine ones due to the rapid spread of the new Omicron coronavirus strain.
Initially, the bill was supposed to come into force on January 15, but its consideration was later postponed both in the National Assembly and in the Senate.
In recent weeks, the number of COVID-19 cases in France has risen sharply. On Friday alone, the country reported 329,371 new infections. The total number of COVID-19 cases in France for the entire period of the pandemic is estimated at 13 million with 126,721 deaths. (ANI/Sputnik)