Live updates: French govt moves to speed up vaccine passes

PARIS — France’s government is forging ahead with efforts to increase pressure on unvaccinated people to get coronavirus jabs, as the omicron variant fuels a record surge in infections.

At a parliamentary hearing on Wednesday afternoon, the health minister plans to defend a French government plan to allow only fully vaccinated individuals access to places such as restaurants, cinemas, theaters, museums, and sports arenas.

Speeding up the introduction of the so-called “vaccine pass” forms part of a government strategy to use vaccinations, rather than new lockdowns, to try to soften the impact of the fast-spreading omicron variant on already overburdened hospitals.

France reported nearly 180,000 new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, a daily record, and is bracing for the number to keep increasing, with forecasts warning of more than 250,000 daily infections likely by January.

France has vaccinated more than 75% of its population and is rushing out booster shots, but more than 4 million adults in the country remain unvaccinated.

The government wants the vaccine pass requirement to be in place by mid-January. If approved by parliament, the plan would mean that unvaccinated people will no longer be able to use negative test results to visit places where the pass is required.

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HERE’S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY ABOUT THE CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC:

— Asia keeps omicron at bay, but a surge may be inevitable

— WHO: Global COVID cases up 11% last week, omicron risk high

— California 1st US state to top 5M cases amid omicron surge

— Stricter Canadian rules complicate NHL push through pandemic

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