Parliament definitively adopts the health bill
It’s done: after the deputies, the senators adopted, on Tuesday July 26, the health bill concerning the “end of emergency regimes” against the Covid-19, with 209 votes for, 30 against and 104 abstentions. This is the first text of the 16e legislature to complete the parliamentary shuttle. Here is the summary of its main provisions after the compromise reached last week between the Assembly and the Senate in a joint committee:
- End of sanitary pass, confinement or curfew
The text formally repeals, from 1is August, the part of the public health code relating to the state of health emergency as well as the system for managing the health crisis, which marks the return to common law. The daily life constraint measures provided for by these regimes – sanitary pass, obligation to wear a mask, confinement, curfew… – can no longer be restored.
- A certificate for travelers coming from abroad and overseas
The bill distinguishes two scenarios, for which the government may, until March 31, 2023, require people over the age of 12 to present a negative Covid test. This will be the only accepted proof: neither vaccination certificate nor proof of recovery will be valid.
For international travel: in the event of the appearance of a dangerous variant in a country, likely to constitute a serious health threat, the government may impose this travel health certificate before boarding the plane bound for French territory. The same provision may apply for travelers from overseas territories, always in the event of a dangerous variant.
For overseas territories, the same possibility is provided, this time in the event of a risk of hospital saturation. Local executives and elected parliamentarians in the community concerned should, however, be consulted.
- Extended SI-Dep and Contact Covid schemes
The national screening information system (SI-Dep), which centralizes all test results, has been extended until June 30, 2023, so that the French can easily access the certificates allowing them to travel to Europe. Contact Covid, which provides follow-up and support for infected people and their contact cases, has been extended until January 31, 2023.
- The reintegration of non-vaccinated caregivers following the opinion of the HAS
The text creates a procedure imposing the effective reinstatement of health personnel suspended for having refused to be vaccinated, as soon as the health situation no longer justifies imposing a vaccination obligation on them.
The finding that the health situation no longer justifies the vaccination obligation will be carried out by the High Authority for Health (HAS), which may act on its own or be seized by the Minister of Health, the Covid-19 control and liaison committee. 19, or by the social affairs committees of the National Assembly or the Senate. For now, the HAS has come out against the reintegration of unvaccinated caregivers.