The Italian government is preparing new measures to battle a surge in COVID-19 infections and might make vaccinations obligatory for more categories of workers, Prime Minister Mario Draghi said on Wednesday.
Key officials are due to meet on Thursday to discuss tightening COVID-19 curbs as concerns grow over the highly infectious Omicron variant.
Draghi told reporters that among the measures that would be considered were a return to obligatory mask-wearing outdoors and the use of more protective Ffp2 masks in some enclosed spaces. He also said vaccine mandates might be reviewed.
“They have already been extended to some categories, and we’ll consider extending it to other categories. I don’t know if we will talk about it tomorrow … but if data on contagions continue to worsen it will be the subject of discussion in a very short while,” Draghi said.
In an effort to curb COVID-19 infections, the government has already made vaccinations mandatory for health care workers, teachers, law enforcement officers and the military.
Italian news agency ANSA is reporting that among the measures the government could reportedly introduce are shortening the validity of the Green Pass health certificate for people who are vaccinated from nine months to seven or five months, making it obligatory to wear facemasks outdoors and making COVID jabs mandatory for more groups of people.
At the moment, health workers, police officers and school staff are the only groups obliged to get vaccinated for the coronavirus.
There is also talk of negative COVID tests being necessary for some activities even for people who are double jabbed but have not yet had their third booster dose.
Another possibility is that the government makes the so-called ‘Super Green Pass’ necessary to access places of work.
At the moment a base form of the Green Pass is needed to access places of work, and to travel on public transport, but people who do not want to get vaccinated can obtain one of these by having a negative COVID test, although this is only valid for a couple of days.
The ‘Super Green Pass’ showing a person is vaccinated or has recovered from COVID in the last six months is needed to do most other leisure activities in Italy, including going to the theatre, cinema or a sporting event and sitting at a table in a restaurant and a bar.
Photo – Local police watch people stroll and shop in the center of Rome, Italy. EPA-EFE/GIUSEPPE LAMI
