Italy will in future require all workers in the country to have vaccinations or negative corona tests when they go about their work. From October 15th, all employees are obliged to provide proof of this with the document called “green passport” in Italy. Otherwise there is a risk of sanctions.
“We are extending the ‘green passport’ obligation to the entire world of work, both in the public and in the private sector,” said Health Minister Roberto Speranza at a press conference on Thursday evening. “We are doing this for two main reasons: to make these places safer and to strengthen our vaccination campaign,” said Speranza.
In Italy, the “green passport” shows whether the holder has been vaccinated against Covid-19, whether he has tested negative in the past 48 hours or whether he has recently recovered from the lung disease. Currently, the pass must already be presented in the interior of restaurants, in cinemas or sports stadiums, on intercity trains, buses and on domestic flights.
There had been protests in many places in Italy against the mandatory introduction of the passport. According to media reports, workers who do not present their passports face fines of up to a thousand euros. Anyone who stays away from work because they cannot produce the document can expect to be suspended.
The government’s decision affects “a total of 23 million workers, the entire human capital of the country,” said Administration Minister Renato Brunetta. De facto, among adults, only pensioners, unemployed people and housewives and housewives are not affected by the passport requirement.
Currently around 75 percent of Italians over the age of twelve are fully vaccinated against the coronavirus. The government hopes that the passport will give the vaccination campaign a further boost.
In Italy, vaccination has been compulsory for medical professions for a long time. According to the national medical association, 728 doctors have since been suspended because they did not get vaccinated.
Italy is not alone with the mandatory health passport: In Greece, all unvaccinated workers have had to be tested once or twice a week at their own expense since September 13th. In Slovenia, the health passport became compulsory for all employees on Wednesday.
Italy was the first country in Europe to be affected by the corona pandemic; more than 130,000 people died there in connection with a coronavirus infection. Last year, Italy experienced its worst recession since World War II as a result of the pandemic.
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