Macron to make Covid jabs for health workers mandatory

French President Emmanuel Macron is set to announce mandatory Covid-19 vaccinations for health staff on Monday as well as a tightening of restrictions to fight a recent surge in cases, sources told AFP.

Legislation to make vaccines obligatory for health staff, set to be announced by Macron in a national address on Monday night, would be voted on July 21-22, said the parliamentary sources, who requested anonymity because they are not authorised to speak publicly.

“It needs to done as fast as possible,” one of the sources said.

Macron will also announce an extension of a certification system that requires people to prove they have been vaccinated or have had a negative Covid test before entering large sports stadiums and nightclubs.

The system will be extended to theatres, cinemas and other public venues, the sources said, but it was not immediately clear if it would be applied in restaurants and bars.

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.