Italy Mandates Digital Vaccine Passport For All Workers

Euronews reports:

Italy has become the first European country to make COVID-19 health passes mandatory for all workers. The Italian government approved a new measure on Thursday that makes digital vaccine certificates compulsory for both public and private sectors.

The obligation is set to begin from October 15 and remain in force until the end of the year. All employees will be required to prove that they have been vaccinated against COVID-19, are recovering from the infection, or have recently tested negative for the virus.

Only pensioners and unemployed citizens will reportedly be exempt from carrying a “green pass”.

The BBC reports:

Announcing the decision, Health Minister Roberto Speranza said the new measures would improve safety and “make our vaccination campaign even stronger”.

“The implementation of a pass such as the one we are bringing into force with this decree will, we are certain, help us push forward this vaccination campaign,” he said.

Despite a vocal anti-vaccination minority, Italians have broadly backed the government’s vaccination campaign. Nearly 65% of Italians have now been fully vaccinated, but infections have been rising, driven by the Delta variant.

The Italian government has approved a decree making it mandatory for all public and private sector workers to show proof of vaccination, a negative test or recent recovery from infection, Italian Health Minister Roberto Speranza told a news conference https://t.co/G2cyaQfzc2

— CNN (@CNN) September 16, 2021