Macron announces Covid restrictions and vaccination push

French President Emmanuel Macron announced mandatory Covid-19 vaccinations for health staff on Monday as well as a tightening of restrictions to fight a recent surge in cases linked to the Delta variant.

The 43-year-old said in a national address that healthcare staff, retirement home workers and others working with vulnerable people would have until September to get themselves jabbed.

In a move designed to limit infections and spur greater uptake of vaccinations, he also announced the widening of a "Covid pass" system.

From August, anyone wanting to go out to eat or drink, visit a shopping centre or attend a festival, theatre show or cinema screening will need to show either proof of vaccination or a negative test.

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"Our country is facing a surge in the epidemic across our territory, in mainland France as well as overseas," Macron said at the start of the televised address.

"The situation is under control, but if we do not act now the number of cases will increase significantly and will lead to a rise in hospitalisations," he said.

The prospect of having to take a test for every meal or drink out appeared to have an instant impact on many unvaccinated French people, with the website used to book appointments for a jab reporting a surge in visits.

The Doctolib site said immediately after Macron's address that a record 20,000 appointments were being taken every minute.

Macron explained that the government's aim was to recognise the "civicism" of those who had been vaccinated while "putting in restrictions on the non-vaccinated rather than on everyone."

Tests, which are currently free, will have to be paid for from September "to encourage vaccination instead of taking many tests," Macron added.

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Around 35.5 million people -- just over half of France's population -- has received at least one vaccine dose so far, while 27 million have had two.

At the start of the pandemic, France had some of the highest levels of vaccine scepticism in the developed world.

The announcements represent a change in direction for the government after several months of progressively lifting restrictions and they underline the concern about the potential impact of a fourth wave of infections.

A panel of scientists who advise the French government on health warned last Friday that as many as 95 percent of people might need to be vaccinated to dam the spread of the Delta variant of Covid-19.

"We need to head towards vaccinating every French person because it's the only way of returning to a normal way of life," Macron added, saying that the idea of making the jab mandatory for everyone would need to be studied.

The Delta strain of Covid-19 already accounts for half of new infections in France and is believed to be around 60 percent more infectious.

The number of new cases in France has jumped to around 4,200 a day, according to the latest available official figures, although the number of deaths in hospital -- four in the past 24 hours -- is low.

Around 7,000 people with Covid are in hospital in France, around a quarter of the peak of the third wave in March-April.

The measures also underscore the different strategies being followed in most European countries compared with Britain, where the government announced Monday it would press ahead with "Freedom Day" next week by lifting most pandemic curbs in England.