World News for Students of English

17-09-2021 15:00

Protesters marched in Paris, France, for the 9^th straight weekend, protesting France’s government-mandated health pass that is required to enter cinemas, restaurants, gyms, and museums.

The government introduced the measure to slow the spread of COVID-19; however, protesters repeatedly said that the system unfairly restricted the unvaccinated. Under the COVID pass system, introduced in stages since mid-July, anyone wishing to enter a restaurant, theater, cinema, long-distance train, or large shopping center must show proof of vaccination or a negative test.

The government insists that the pass is necessary to encourage more vaccinations and to avoid a fourth national lockdown, with the unvaccinated accounting for most of the COVID-19 patients in hospital.

More than 250,000 people marched on previous weekends, claiming that the vaccine wasn’t the solution. Some people refused to get their children vaccinated just days before the start of the new school year. An 11-year-old boy who marched with his father said that he wasn’t a laboratory rat.

Difficult words: straight (through a long time or distance), mandated (official authority to carry out a policy or task), account (to be the important factor).

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