Italy to require vaccination pass on long-distance transport

Italy will require a vaccination pass on long-distance transportation, including high-speed trains and ferries between regions, starting in September, Italian government ministers announced on Thursday.

They met to decide on additional requirements for the so-called Green Pass, which will be required from Friday to access indoor dining, theaters, indoor swimming pools, gyms, museums, and other gathering places.

Under the new restrictions, access will be granted to anyone with at least one dose of vaccine in the last nine months, who has recovered from COVID-19 in the last six months or tested negative in the previous 48 hours.

Ministers also said that schools would resume in September with all students present in classrooms, after a year and a half of at least part-time distance learning.

All students over age six will have to wear masks and maintain a distance of one meter (three feet) between students.

Italy is not making the vaccine mandatory for students or school personnel.

But the education minister, Patrizio Bianchi, said any teacher who is not vaccinated and misses more than five days of school will no longer be paid, and students who have been vaccinated will have their quarantine reduced from 10 days to 7 days in case of exposure to someone who is positive.