France's government is forging ahead with efforts to increase pressure on unvaccinated people to get coronavirus shots, as the country reported 208,000 new COVID-19 cases Wednesday — a record fueled by the omicron variant.

Health Minister Olivier Veran on Wednesday defended a government plan to allow only the fully vaccinated to enjoy continued access to places such as restaurants, cinemas, theaters, museums, and sports arenas. The pass will also be required on inter-regional trains and buses and domestic flights.

Veran said at a parliamentary hearing that the record number of infections means that more than two French people are testing positive every second for COVID-19. Veran estimated that about 10% of the French population has been in contact recently with a person infected with the virus.

Speaking to those not vaccinated, he said: "There is really little chance that this time you can escape (COVID-19): The virus is spreading too fast." Veran said that in Paris public hospitals, 70% of people hospitalized in intensive care units aren't vaccinated.

He also advised the most vulnerable people who didn't get the vaccine booster shot yet to "protect yourself in the coming days. Don't take risks."

The speeded-up introduction of the so-called vaccine pass forms part of a government strategy to use vaccinations, rather than new lockdowns, to try to soften the impact of the fast-spreading omicron variant on already overburdened hospitals.

France has vaccinated 77% of its population and is rushing out booster shots, again to combat omicron. But more than 4 million adults remain unvaccinated, including more than 1 million people over age 65.

More than 3,400 COVID-19 patients were hospitalized in intensive care units on Wednesday, an increase of 10% over the past week. The figure represents two thirds of ICU beds occupied by people infected with the virus. But the number is lower than during the previous peak in the spring, when about 6,000 COVID-19 patients needed intensive care.

About 170 people die every day from COVID-19 in the country.

The government wants the vaccine pass to be in place by mid-January.

The bill is likely to be voted on quickly in parliament, with President Emmanuel Macron's party holding a majority at the National Assembly, which has the final say.

If approved, its introduction will mean that unvaccinated people will no longer be able to use negative test results to access places where the vaccine pass is required.

The bill provides for an exception to the pass — notably to take trains and planes — for people with family or health emergencies on condition they are able to present a negative test.

Those who aren't vaccinated but have a proof of a recent COVID-19 recovery will be able to get a vaccine pass limited to a six-month period following infection.

 

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German minister: COVID cases much higher than data show

Germany's health minister said Wednesday that the country's coronavirus infection rate is likely two to three times higher than statistics currently show, and urged his compatriots to be cautious during New Year's celebrations.

Statistics in recent days have continued to show Germany's infection rate drifting downward from a spike caused by the delta variant. But officials have cautioned repeatedly that, as in previous holiday periods, the numbers will be incomplete over Christmas and the new year because fewer tests are being performed and there are delays in reporting tests that are carried out.

At the same time, neighboring France is reporting record numbers fueled by the new omicron variant.

On Wednesday, Germany's official data showed 40,043 reported new cases over the past 24 hours and an infection rate, or incidence, of 205.5 new cases per 100,000 residents over the past seven days.

Health Minister Karl Lauterbach said that "the underreporting is probably of the order that the actual incidence is currently two or three times as high as the incidence we are measuring."

"We are also seeing a significant increase in omicron cases that causes us concern," he added.

The minister said there is a "shortfall" in staff that "becomes particularly noticeable" over holiday periods at local health offices, a key part of Germany's reporting chain. He said that improving that situation will be a "central task" for him in the coming year.

Lauterbach advised Germans to spend the New Year's period "very cautiously" and celebrate only in very small groups. Restrictions  that took effect over recent days included limiting private gatherings to 10 people. Large-scale New Year's celebrations have been canceled and the sale of fireworks banned.

He said he's sure that there will be "solid and sufficient" data on infections by the time Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Germany's 16 state governors confer on the way forward in the pandemic on Jan. 7.

Lauterbach noted that Germany's vaccination campaign has kicked back into gear after a brief Christmas lull and appealed to people who haven't yet got a booster to book an appointment. So far, 71% of the population has received a full first vaccination course and 37.3% has received a booster.