Washington – France is finalizing plans to lift restrictions on Americans who travel to the country and have received their COVID-19 vaccines, French President Emmanuel Macron said, as the nation grapples with a new wave of coronavirus cases.
“We will gradually lift the restrictions at the beginning of May, which means that in the summer we will organize in France with our professionals for French European citizens, as well as for American citizens,” Macron said in an interview with “Face the Nation” that Sunday. was broadcast. “So we are working hard to propose a very concrete solution, especially for US citizens who have been vaccinated, so with a special pass, I would say.”
France is currently in its third national lockdown as it battles a new wave of coronavirus infections, with schools closed until the end of April, travel restricted and gatherings banned. In a nationally televised speech late last month, Macron attributed the latest wave to new coronavirus variants, which are more contagious and have caused “an epidemic within an epidemic.”
The death toll in France from the coronavirus was over 100,000, and there have been more than 5.3 million confirmed cases, according to Johns Hopkins University.
Macron said on Sunday that French ministers are “finalizing technical talks” about relaxing restrictions, and that officials are drafting a certificate to facilitate travel between European countries with testing and vaccinations.
“Indeed, the whole idea is to offer that to the American citizen when they decide to vaccinate or if a PCR test is negative,” he said. “So the idea is indeed to always keep the virus under control, maximize vaccination and gradually lift restrictions.”
The most recent rise in coronavirus cases in France is due to vaccinations lagging behind in the country. But Macron said Europe is catching up, with production accelerating, allowing France to meet its vaccine targets. Still, some members of the European Union are considering securing their own supply of the Russian Sputnik vaccine, which has not yet been approved by the European Medicines Agency.
When asked if he would buy the Russian vaccine, Macron noted that the European health authorities have not yet authorized it, so the vaccine cannot be used on French soil.
“At this stage, the Russian vaccine is not recognized by our authorities,” he said. “So I don’t think today’s Russian vaccine is a solution to speed up, because it will take some time to get approval from the European agency and it will take time to produce such a vaccine on our continent.”
In addition to facilitating the vaccinations of French citizens, Macron said it is “not enough just to focus on the rich countries”.
“I think we should send a maximum dose of vaccine between now and June, which is a small fraction of what we are getting before us, to vaccinate the workers of the healthcare system in Africa,” he said. “It’s very limited, but these guys are working hard to keep the health system going and this is something we can do. And the same in Latin America. After the summer, we will speed up these deliveries. We will accelerate this solidarity ., what we have to offer is funding for these economies too. “