Image via Jean Carlo Emer / Unsplash (CC0)
Starting this week, visitors to museums and other cultural venues in France will have to provide proof that they’ve been fully vaccinated, or recently tested negative for COVID-19.
This new “health pass” will be required at venues with more than 50 people. Those over 18 will have to show a QR code with their vaccination record, or a negative PCR test from the previous 48 hours.
According to Artnet News, the “health pass,” which was initially used for large-scale events such as concerts and exhibitions, is now being rolled out across the country to include places such as restaurants, museums, movie theaters, malls, and long-distance trains.
“If we do not act today, the number of cases will continue to increase,” French President Emmanuel Macron said in the announcement, as per France24.
However, this new law hasn’t been welcomed by all in France. Last week, on Bastille Day, over 20,000 people took to the streets to protest the “health pass” as an infringement on their freedom, with over 100,000 people joining the protests over the weekend, as per the Associated Press.
There are also museum workers who are skeptical about the “health pass” being an effective way to keep COVID-19 out of museums and cultural centres.
“To grant the visitors safe access to museums I tried last year to get COVID-trained sniffing dogs (they are amazing and super efficient). I still think they would be the best solution. Much better than any compulsory QR codes,” Marc-Olivier Wahler, the former head of the Palais de Tokyo and current director of Paris Art Lab, told Artnet News.
The new “health pass” can now be accessed via the TousAntiCovid app.
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