Sanitary pass, digital reminder book ... Cédric O unveils the novelties of TousAntiCovid

The Secretary of State in charge of the digital transition Cédric O unveils in Le Parisien / Today all the details of the health pass before its entry into force on June 9, as well as the digital reminder book that can be set up in the bars, restaurants and sports halls in order to warn customers identified as contact cases.

Two digital tools that will be available in the TousAntiCovid application.

Exclusive interview.

Digital tools are becoming decisive in finding a “normal life”.

CÉDRIC O.

This will be done in different stages. On May 29, Health Insurance will provide all vaccinated with their vaccination certificate, in the form of a QR code. They can download it from attestation-vaccin.ameli.fr or call their health insurance fund. On June 9, the health pass will come into effect for large gatherings. This health pass will include either the vaccination certificate, proof of a negative PCR or antigen test, or a certificate of recovery from Covid. It can be used in digital format on TousAntiCovid or on paper, but it will be mandatory for events. I insist, it will take the result certified with the QR code, not a simple report of biological results. For a very simple reason, I am thinking of the front page of the Parisian this Sunday on false tests ...

June 9 is also the date of the reopening, with a gauge, indoor restaurants and sports halls?

Absolutely, that day will also be deployed the digital reminder book, also in the TousAntiCovid application.

Professionals will be able to choose whether they prefer the paper version, but with Alain Griset (

Editor's note, the Minister for SMEs

), we have been working for several months to ensure that the digital tool is deployed and adopted.

Because it is easier to use and more protective of privacy since no one has access to the data.

Finally, on July 1, the European health pass will come into force.

Read also Health pass, European green certificate: what you need to know to navigate

How will professionals verify the digital health pass?

By June 9, we will have deployed the reader app called TousAntiCovid Verif.

For airlines, there will be a specific version because they are required to have access to detailed content, with the date of vaccination, the type of vaccination etc.

They will be able to download it from the stores, with access control by identifier.

On the other hand, the event organizers or the places concerned by the health pass in France, will not know this information.

They will only know the name, first name and date of birth of the person concerned and will only see “green” or “red” appear to validate or not access.

For them, the application will be freely accessible on the stores.

So can anyone download it to use the health pass?

The same risk exists with paper certificates.

It is for this reason that the bill, recently debated in Parliament on the way out of crisis management, clearly states that no one will be able to restrict access to a place outside the cases fixed by decree.

I have no doubt that if there were any abuses, for example by restaurateurs who would try to impose it on their customers, we would be quickly aware, if only through social networks.

And sanctions are planned.

Why was the list of establishments that will need to apply for this pass so complicated to establish?

From the moment we put gauges and categories, we are on the cutting edge.

The solution we have found seems the most logical to understand.

In areas open to the public where you are in circulation, such as the Eiffel Tower, the Palace of Versailles or museums, the health pass is not compulsory.

In places where one remains more static, such as theaters or stadiums, above 1,000 people, it is in demand.

Will staff working in places where the health pass will apply be forced to use it?

No, because it is legally a matter of labor law.

On the other hand, employers in fairs, shows, and concerts will have to put in place specific protocols.

With these digital tools, why don't you reopen the nightclubs?

These tools reduce the risks but do not cancel them.

We consider discos to represent an even higher level of risk.

The health pass could be an option under the review clause scheduled for mid-June, we are working on it, but the first determinant is the incidence rate and the level of the epidemic.

Read alsoCovid-19: why the sanitary pass divides the owners of nightclubs

Despite the European health pass, will our neighbors be able to impose a quarantine?

States, in the event of an upsurge in the epidemic, retain the possibility of adding constraints, starting with France.

But in the current state of health, it is expected that the health pass is sufficient to travel to European countries.

Foreign customs officers will be able to read the QR code provided by France.

We carried out tests, which validated the technical principles.

Is the digital reminder book data stored on a server?

No, on your phone.

When you declare yourself ill, the list of places saved on your device is sent to a server, which returns information on all the phones that have the application.

Each phone then compares this list with that of the places visited by its owner.

Your strategy is based on an application, TousAntiCovid, which has been much criticized ...

I admit a form of perplexity in the face of this debate.

Since Antiquity, public order in an epidemic situation has been managed by confinement and quarantine ... I claim that modern tools can be used to simplify and improve the management of a crisis as exceptional as that of the Covid, especially to alleviate the deprivations of liberty that are confinement or closure.

If we continued to use the same treatments as in Antiquity, we would manage the Covid by bloodletting!

There is a form of aberration in the tension on these subjects.

As if we were so afraid of the solidity of our democracy and our rule of law that we could not equip ourselves with these tools.

The National Financial Prosecutor's Office has opened an investigation for suspicion of favoritism in the award of the public contract for the maintenance of the application.

Are you worried ?

No, if things were done in a hurry, they were done properly.

I assume we went fast, because it saved lives.

And I welcome the fact that this is a sovereign project, which does not depend on Apple or Google.

The only interest pursued was the general interest.

I won't apologize for deploying StopCovid!

That being said, it is normal that if justice asks questions, it can get all the answers.

How much has the app cost since its launch a year ago?

We are at around 9 million euros all inclusive since June 2020. For such an application, it is very inexpensive, in particular because the companies that worked on the development did it for free: the German application, it is 20 million euros of development and 3 million euros per month, for a similar efficiency.