Italy tightens rules for unvaccinated citizens amid spike in COVID cases

Amid the surge in COVID-19 cases, the Italian government on Wednesday, 24 November announced new restrictions to curb the spread of the deadly virus. The Mario Draghi administration has imposed new measures mandated to the unvaccinated people in the country starting 6 December, according to AP. As per the new rules, people need to show proof of vaccination in order to access certain indoor locations.

According to the new guidelines, people need to show proof of vaccination or of having recovered from the COVID-19 pandemic to eat at indoor restaurants, go to movies, sports events, according to AP.  People can no longer visit these places by just showing their negative COVID-19 report. As per the new rule imposed by the Italian administration, vaccination has been made mandatory for employees of law enforcement, schools. The government has also made vaccination mandatory for military personnel. Earlier, vaccination was only compulsory for healthcare workers and anyone who worked in elder care homes.

Restrictions for the unvaccinated people

Italy's Prime Minister Mario Draghi stated that the new rules have been introduced in order to stop the “slow but steady” rise in COVID-19 cases. The government has also raised concern over the tourism sector as the holiday season is approaching once winter strikes. After the cabinet approved the new measures, Draghi informed that the country has started returning to “normality” and that citizens need to take steps to preserve it.

“We’ve begun to return to normality. We want to conserve this normality,” Draghi told a press conference as per AP. 

In Italy, people are required to carry a health pass to access their workplace. The “Green Pass” contains proof of vaccination or of being cured of COVID-19 or a negative test. However, as per the new guidelines, the government has made it mandatory to have Green Pass in order to engage in certain indoor activities, as per AP. Non-vaccinated people from 6 December to 15 January would not be able to go to theatres or eat indoors. In addition, people also need to show green pass to check into a hotel or any local public transport.

COVID-19 statistics in Italy

According to Italian Health Ministry, 87.07% of the population above the age of 12 have been administered at least one dose of vaccine. 84.30% of the population over the age of 12 have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19. According to Worldometer, as of 25 November, the total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Italy is 4,954,585. The number of people who have died due to COVID-19 is 133,415 and 4,661,853 people have recovered from the virus.

With inputs from AP

Image: AP/Unsplash