The President of French Polynesia, Édouard Fritch, announced Wednesday, October 13 in Papeete the postponement of two months of the application of the law on the vaccination obligation for people in contact with the public in this overseas collectivity. .
Read also French Polynesia: demonstration against the vaccine obligation
The law, passed on August 23 by the Assembly of French Polynesia, was to apply on October 23.
The vaccination obligation will concern all people who work in contact with the public.
From December 23, these people will have to be vaccinated or pay a fine of 1,500 euros.
According to the Polynesian president, the obligation concerns "
between 20,000 and 25,000 people
" out of the 60,000 Polynesian employees.
He specified that no retiree, nor any child, was concerned.
A new confinement excluded
However, he urged the entire population over 12 to be vaccinated and ruled out further confinement.
"
Our country will not be able to face a fourth wave, both from a human, economic and financial point of view: the consequences (...) would be dramatic and will bring us to our knees
", a- he declared.
Read alsoThe history of the settlement of Polynesia is clarified thanks to genetics
The Delta variant wave saturated the hospital center and caused the death of 450 people in August and September, out of 280,000 inhabitants. Only 52.6% of Polynesians are vaccinated. This resistance to vaccination is partly explained by the contradictory messages sent by the majority. The president and the local Minister of Health, Jacques Raynal, advocate a mass vaccination, while the president of the assembly and mayor of Bora Bora, Gaston Tong Sang, member of the same party, bets on natural immunity and does not is not vaccinated.
Two hours after President Fritch's speech, the Vice-President of the Government, Tearii Alpha, also told a press briefing that he was not vaccinated. "
Not only do I have antibodies, but above all I have a particular biological state
", he indicated, specifying that he would not say more for reasons of medical confidentiality. Tearii Alpha had created a controversy on August 5 by organizing a big party for his wedding, a few days after the ban on this type of festivities by President Fritch, himself present at the wedding and filmed playing the guitar on scene.
The Polynesians who demonstrate every weekend against the vaccination obligation regularly rely on this lack of exemplary nature of their leaders to refuse vaccination.
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