French President Emmanuel Macron announced Tuesday evening to postpone the pre-decided easing of anti-COVID-19 measures, since France is undergoing the fifth wave of the pandemic, Trend reports citing Xinhua.
"We are not done with the pandemic yet," he warned in his address to the nation.
Macron said that all barrier gestures that protect people both from COVID-19 and other contagious winter diseases should be given more attention.
"We all relaxed a bit our efforts and it was normal. But we should step up again," he said.
He added that the controls of health pass will be also strengthened in concerned establishments, including airports, ports and train stations.
Furthermore, people over 65 years old and the most vulnerable ones will have to get a booster dose in order to validate their health pass from Dec. 15.
The French head of state reaffirmed the role of health pass in France's anti-COVID-19 combat.
"Thanks to the health pass and the strategy implemented since last July, we have managed to control the epidemic," he stated.