SANITARY PASS. This Monday, August 1, 2022 marks the end of the health pass. The precious sesame to fight against Covid-19 is replaced by a travel health certificate. What are the differences between the two devices?
[Mis à jour le 1er août 2022 à 14h11] End clap for the health pass. With the end of the state of health emergency, recorded in the new health bill voted on July 25, the device, which punctuated the daily life of the French for months, particularly in the health services, is no longer topical this Monday, August 1, 2022. Thus, the precious sesame, which preceded and then succeeded the vaccination pass is repealed on the national territory. The government will no longer be able to impose direct constraints on the French such as the health pass, the curfew or confinement. On the other hand, the new health law maintains the right for the executive to impose a negative screening test on the Covid-19 people over the age of 12 to return to French soil, if a new variant deemed dangerous emerges. “The government will be able to impose this travel health certificate before boarding the plane”, specifies the law.
This “travel health certificate” may be requested for travelers to the DOM-TOM only in the event of “risk of saturation” of the overseas health system. It is therefore not a question of a return to the health pass at the borders strictly speaking. In addition, the new health bill which takes effect on August 1 no longer mentions a health pass, nor a vaccination pass for that matter, which means that it will never again be required in the places in France where it was. in force (health and medico-social services and establishments in particular), unless a new law has to be passed.
The health pass as we knew it at the borders of the country is no more. A new system has been put in place by the government to manage the Covid-19 epidemic in the event of the appearance of a new variant from August 1, 2022 until January 31, 2023, framed by the new law says ” surveillance and health security”. Thus, the executive will be able to request a travel health certificate at the borders of metropolitan France. It may also be requested in the DOM-TOMs, only in the event of saturation of the local health system.
The health pass involved three proofs (complete vaccination schedule, Covid-19 recovery certificate or negative Covid-19 test). However, the device that replaces it at the borders of France from August 1, 2022, called travel health certificate, consists only of a Covid-19 screening test for travelers from foreign countries, without mentioning vaccination. compulsory or recovery from Covid-19 and provided that a new dangerous variant has appeared.
Is the health pass still necessary to travel?
From the moment your trip takes place in France, the health or vaccination pass is no longer required to take the plane, a train or a long-distance bus since March 14, 2022. But if you are traveling to Abroad, the health rules are different depending on the country of destination. Some member countries of the European Union may require a negative test, proof of vaccination or a certificate of recovery from Covid-19. It is advisable to inquire beforehand about the France Diplomacy website. To travel to countries such as Portugal, Spain, Germany or Italy for example, it is still mandatory to present an EU digital COVID certificate.
How to get the EU digital COVID certificate?
To travel to one of the member countries of the European Union, an EU digital COVID certificate is required for travelers aged 12 and over. Since February 1, 2022, it is obtained by one of these three proofs:
- A vaccination certificate : if you have an initial vaccination schedule (one dose of Janssen vaccine or two doses of Moderna, AstraZeneca or Pfizer), the digital EU COVID certificate is valid from the 14th day to the 9th month (270 days exactly) “depending on the ‘administration of the last dose of the primary vaccination schedule’ specifies the official website of the European Union. If you have taken a booster dose (for travelers over 18 in addition to the initial vaccination schedule), then your digital EU COVID certificate has no validity limit at this time.
- A test result negative for Covid-19 : antigen test valid for 24 hours or RT-PCR test valid for 72 hours. However, it is advisable to check the period of validity of the negative test required according to the European country via the France Diplomacy website.
- A certificate of reinstatement at Covid-19 : valid from the 14th day to the 9th month (270 days exactly) “following the first and only dose after the recovery of an infected person” specifies the official website of the European Union. In addition, people who have recovered from Covid-19 within 180 days of traveling to the European Union have a valid Covid-19 recovery certificate.
These rules only apply to vaccination certificates used for the purpose of traveling within the European Union, which are checked at borders. They are not the same in a national context.