France pressures unvaccinated to get their shots

France is stepping up pressure on unvaccinated citizens to get vaccinated as the omicron variant of COVID-19 hits Europe.

Unvaccinated people are set to have their access to cinemas and other attractions cut as the government seeks to provide incentives for people to get vaccinated. More than a quarter of France’s population is unvaccinated, according to Our World in Data’s figures.

On Wednesday, a health minister is expected to defend a plan to only permit vaccinated people to have access to venues like restaurants, theaters, museums and sports arenas.

If the plan is approved by Parliament, unvaccinated French people will no longer be able to use a negative COVID-19 test result to access applicable indoor venues requiring vaccines, according to The Associated Press.

The “vaccine pass,” which officials hope will be in place by mid-January, is part of the government’s strategy to avoid new lockdowns, the AP reported. 

The push to encourage people to receive their shots comes as the country hit a new record for infections on Tuesday when France reported 180,000 new cases. Some predictions indicate that case rates could be over 250,000 daily infections by January, per the AP.

Globally, the World Health Organization reported an 11 percent increase in COVID-19 cases with 4.99 million new cases reported between Dec. 20 and Dec. 26, 2.84 million of which came from Europe.