Story at a glance
- French authorities said Thursday that there are around 110,000 fake health passes in circulation across the country amid hundreds of investigations into pass distributors.
- Some of the forgery cases involve individuals in the medical industry, which make allegations against them “very difficult to prove.”
- Distributors face up to five years in prison, Darmanin said.
French authorities said Thursday that there are around 110,000 fake health passes in circulation across the country amid hundreds of investigations into pass distributors.
Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin reportedly told France 2 around 100 people have been arrested in connection to 400 investigations into forgers, some of whom are in the medical industry, which make allegations against them “very difficult to prove.” Meanwhile, distributors face up to five years in prison, Darmanin added.
Health passes are required to enter restaurants and a variety of public venues, including transportation and cultural events. The passes show proof of COVID-19 vaccination, recovery or recent negative test.
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The interior minister’s comments follow the case of a 57-year-old woman who died in a hospital after showing health care providers a fake pass. Hospital officials said a treatment regimen for the woman would have been different if they had received accurate information.
“We could have prescribed a treatment based on neutralizing antibodies, something we obviously did not think of, because we thought she was vaccinated,” said Djillali Annane, head of the hospital’s intensive care unit, according to Connexion France.
“To all my colleagues who prescribe false vaccination certificates, I want to say that they are doing their patients a disservice, and cheating them,” he added.
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