Italy is tightening its Green Pass restrictions even further. From 6th December to 15th January, new rules will come into force that target the unvaccinated. Known as the Super Green Pass, there is the option to extend the restrictions if the government thinks it necessary.
A Super Green Pass is a strengthened version of the current certificate. The Prime Minister Mario Draghi announced the new measures on Wednesday evening.
Restrictions of new Super Green Pass
The Green Pass shows the holder as either vaccinated, recovered from the coronavirus, or had a recent negative test.
The Super Green Pass will have a reduced validity, from 12 to nine months. Whereas the current Green Pass regulations only apply to inter-regional and national transport, they will also be necessary for regional and local public transport.
Furthermore, the ‘basic’ Green Pass will become mandatory from 6 December for hotels, changing rooms for sporting activities. There will also be a requirement to wear masks in crowded outdoor places once a region is classified as a yellow zone or higher.
The only Green Pass aspect that will not change is that workers without the vaccine may only access their workplace by getting tested every couple of days.
Compulsory vaccination
Currently, more than 84% of the population over the age of 12 is now fully vaccinated. Draghi said the situation in Italy “is under control, we are in the best situation in Europe thanks to the vaccination campaign which was a remarkable success.”
The government introduced increasingly strict measures against No Vax and No Green Pass protests, banning them from city centres worldwide.
The Health Minister, Speranza, announced the vaccine will become compulsory for all teachers, police officers and military with effect from 15 December. Italy’s medical workers, already obliged to be vaccinated, must now have their third ‘booster’ dose of the vaccine.
The booster dose will be available from 1st December for everyone over the age of 18.
Speranza added that it was the government’s intention to expand the nation’s vaccination campaign to children aged 5-11. That is pending formal approval from Italian medicines agency AIFA.
Applies to unvaccinated in white zone
All of Italy is currently in the government’s lowest-risk white zone.
The new Super Green Pass rules will apply to the unvaccinated in the white zone as well as the low-moderate-risk yellow zones and medium-risk orange zones. However, if a region passes into the highest-risk red zone then the lockdown restrictions will apply to everyone.
Information on coronavirus restrictions in Italy are availble, In English, here.
