French Parliament to End COVID Emergency Measures, But Not Border Controls

The state of emergency, as well as the measures imposed to stop the spread of the Coronavirus, will be ended on August 1, in France, following a bill adopted by the French parliament.

According to a report published by RFI, the Senate on Tuesday approved the law by a vote of 30. In this regard, MPs in the National Assembly had voted 184 in favour and 149 against, SchengenVisaInfo.com reports.

The bill is set to replace the state of emergency imposed in March 2020, which also included exceptional Coronavirus measures such as lockdown, the obligation to wear face masks as well as to hold a health pass.

“In the event of a health crisis in the future, if the government needs exceptional powers, it will have to negotiate them one by one with the parliament,” Republican (LR) Senator Philippe Bas pointed out in this regard after the vote.

Still, it has been clarified that the bill has a provision permitting the French government to demand that passengers present proof showing they have tested negative for the Coronavirus when planning to enter France from other countries, in case the health situation requires.

According to authorities in France, the new test requirement would only be activated if the epidemiological situation in the country worsens.

It has been reported that the most controversial measure in this bill was the reinstatement of health workers who were suspended for not having been immunised against the Coronavirus.

The reinstatement of this bill has not been welcomed by France Public Health Authority (HAS), as well as the medical unit. Besides, they have opposed its reinstatement.

The bill also permits for the vaccination requirement on health workers to be abolished once the HAS considers it is no longer needed.

According to the figures provided by the World Health Organisation (WHO), France has registered a total of 32,664,720 cases of COVID-19 infection since the start of the pandemic, while a total of 148,254 people have died during the same period.

Besides, based on the WHO figures, there have been a total of 150,577,493 vaccine doses in France up to this point.

The increase in the number of COVI-19 infections led authorities in France to recommend their citizens to wear face masks again when accessing different indoor public spaces.

Authorities in France came out with such a proposal after renewing other COVD-19 restrictions would scare the passengers away.