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HEALTH

Most people in Italy support the rules on wearing masks in public, study finds

Almost 84 percent of people in Italy say they feel prepared for a new health emergency, while 80 percent overall support the new rules making masks mandatory at all times in public.

Published: 16 October 2020 12:54 CEST
Updated: 19 October 2020 14:00 CEST
Most people in Italy support the rules on wearing masks in public, study finds
People walk wearing face masks in central Milan. Photo: Miguel Medina/AFP

A new survey by Censis released on Thursday found that 80 percent of people in Italy are in favour of new rules requiring a face mask to be worn in all public places, indoors and outdoors,

The rules also apply at work (which was not previously the case in Italy except in public-facing roles) with fines of up to 1,000 euros for non-compliance.

The percentage in support of the rule rose to 86 percent among women, and the measure appears more popular in the south (83.1%) than the north-west (78%) and north-east (71.6%).

Meanwhile, 83.7 percent of people in Italy feel “prepared” to face a second wave of Covid-19 as the number of new cases continues to rise in the country.

READ ALSO: Eight charts that show the state of the coronavirus pandemic in Italy

The majority are “ready to face the health emergency and the restrictions they have been preparing for for some time,” wrote the authors of the Censis-Eudaimon report titled “Working during and after Covid-19”.

“Italians have prepared themselves psychologically and materially for the second wave, including within businesses,” the report states.

Photo: AFP

However, fewer are confident that authorities are equally well-prepared for a new emergency phase.

Just over 55 percent said they think the Italian government is ready to deal with a second wave.

An average of 66 percent said their regional authority is prepared (the figure was highest in the North-East at 83.2%, but drops to 65.1% in the south and islands.)

Just over 63 percent of employees surveyed said they felt their company was adequately prepared.

The survey also found that the vast majority in Italy  agree with the new obligation to wear a mask everywhere outside the house.

Three out of four employees said they were in favour of masks being mandatory at work. The highest levels of support for the measure were among executives (84.2%) and graduates (80.7%).

Some 24 percent of employees have worked remotely for the first time due to the pandemic. 41 percent said remote working had improved their work-life balance, while 13 percent said things were easier when they could go into the office.

Around half of those surveyed think the way people work in Italy has changed forever.

 

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BREXIT

‘We are desperate’: Why the UK must help Britons with Italian healthcare charges

A 74-year-old British woman has explained the "frustration and fear" Britons in Italy are facing when trying to access healthcare and appealed to the UK government for help.

Published: 11 April 2024 09:53 CEST
'We are desperate': Why the UK must help Britons with Italian healthcare charges

Pat Eggleton, a teacher and writer from the UK, appealed to the UK’s Foreign Secretary David Cameron in the letter sent April 9th about the “desperate” situation faced by UK citizens entitled to free healthcare in Italy – but unable to access it.

British nationals residing in Italy before Brexit, and covered by the Withdrawal Agreement (WA), are in many cases being told by Italian health authorities that they must pay steep new fees at a minimum of €2,000 a year – even though they are exempt from paying at all.

READ ALSO: ‘Life or death situation’: Brits facing high Italian healthcare costs amid rule change uncertainty

In her open letter seen by The Local, Ms. Eggleton, who has lived in Italy since 2005, highlighted that the current minimum is a huge jump from the previous €387, and said that the sum was “difficult, or even impossible, for some to find when there had been no prior notification and there is no option to pay in instalments.”

“A great deal of undeserved worry, frustration and even fear has ensued,” she wrote.

“Some of our group have serious, ongoing health conditions. All we require is for one sentence from the Italian government confirming that Withdrawal Agreement beneficiaries do not have to pay for healthcare access to be circulated to all regional health authorities.

“We implore you to act before this becomes even more serious. As someone put it, “This is a matter not only of money, but of health.” 

Ms Eggleton’s letter came exactly one month after the British government confirmed that all WA agreement beneficiaries are exempt from paying the €2,000 fee, provided they were living in Italy before January 1st 2021.

But there were no details available at the time from the Italian government setting out how the rules would be implemented or communicated to local health authorities around Italy.

Since then, there has been no further information released by the Italian government on any official platform. 

One Withdrawal Agreement beneficiary, Graham Beresford, told The Local last week how he was having trouble accessing healthcare, even though he has a right to it.

Mr. Beresford suffers from blood cancer and needs access to the Italian healthcare system to obtain his medication. 

“Every time I go to my ASL (local health unit) office, I always feel like I’m dismissed,” Graham said. “I told the ASL worker I need medication for my cancer and she replied lots of people come in here with sob stories.

“There genuinely seems to be no compassion whatsoever.”

The Local has written to the Italian health ministry for comment.

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