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COVID-19 RULES

Just over half of Italians support green pass requirement for workers, says study

Some 55% of Italy’s population is in favour of a new law which will require all workers to produce a Covid-19 health certificate or 'green pass' to enter the workplace from October 15th, surveys show

Published: 14 October 2021 16:41 CEST
Protesters hold an Italian flag as they take part in a demonstration against the green pass in Piazza del Popolo in Rome on July 24, 2021.
Protesters hold an Italian flag as they take part in a demonstration against the green pass in Piazza del Popolo in Rome on July 24, 2021. Filippo MONTEFORTE / AFP

The report, conducted by the EngageMinds Hub research centre at the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, sampled the views of 6,000 people from across the country.

It concludes Italians are deeply divided on the issue, with just 56% of those surveyed saying they believe the Covid-19 health certificate is an effective tool in reducing the risk of infections.

The green pass proves bearers have either been vaccinated with at least one dose, have recovered from Covid-19 within the past six months, or have tested negative in the previous 48 hours (for rapid antigen tests) or 72 hours (for molecular PCR tests).

The over-60s are the demographic most in favour of the green pass, while only half of those under the age of 34 approve of its use, the report says.

READ ALSO: EXPLAINED: How Italy will enforce the new ‘green pass’ rules in all workplaces

“Our latest survey shows that the green pass, approved by just over 50% of Italians, does not reach the basis for full social consensus,” said centre director Guendalina Graffigna, a professor of health and consumer psychology.

“From the data emerge large pockets of the population that remain uncertain about the usefulness of the green certificate and the requirement for its use.”

Protesters take part in a demonstration against the green pass at Piazza Duomo in Milan on July 24, 2021. The placard reads "Green Pass No, Freedom Yes".

Protesters take part in a demonstration against the green pass at Piazza Duomo in Milan on July 24, 2021. The placard reads “Green Pass No, Freedom Yes”. MIGUEL MEDINA / AFP

“People who show signs of fatigue, frustration and distrust of the system, an attitude that in the long term can become problematic”.

The requirement to show a green pass has already been in place since September 1st for schoolteachers and university and care home staff, and for anyone wanting to use long-distance interregional public transport.

The health certificate has been obligatory since August 6th for anyone wanting to enter most cultural, entertainment and leisure venues in the country, and to dine indoors at restaurants.

READ ALSO: EXPLAINED: Where do you now need to show a Covid green pass in Italy?

Workers can opt to get tested instead of receiving the vaccine, but from Friday those who wish to remain unvaccinated must pay for a test every two to three days.

Rapid antigen tests are capped at €15 in certain pharmacies participating in a government scheme to keep prices down for workers, though may cost more at non-participating pharmacies.

Those who fail to produce a green pass cannot be fired, but they could be fined or suspended without pay.

Employees who fail to produce a pass face penalties of between €600 and €1,500, and salaries will be frozen from the first day they show up to work without the certificate. Employers are subject to fines of between €400 and €1,000 for failing to uphold the rules.

A 10,000 person-strong protest against the new rules held in Rome’s Piazza del Popolo on Saturday descended into violence as leaders of the neo-fascist Forza Nuova party occupied the offices of the CGIL trade union and attempted to launch an attack on Palazzo Chigi, the official residence of the Italian prime minister.

A protest against the green pass in central Rome on October 9, 2021 descended into violence and clashes with police.

A protest against the green pass in central Rome on October 9, 2021 descended into violence and clashes with police. Tiziana FABI / AFP

READ ALSO: Analysis: What’s behind Italy’s anti-vax protests and neo-fascist violence?

Clashes with police left 38 officers injured and buildings ransacked. Twelve Forza Nuova leaders were arrested, and multiple Italian politicians and public figures have called for the party to be disbanded.

Despite having been offered the possibility of free Covid tests, dock workers in Trieste are now threatening to go on strike against the rules by blocking all activities in their port, a major hub in the northeast, from October 15th.

Meanwhile, there are concerns violence could break out again next Saturday, when the anti-pass movement is planning further protests and unions are preparing for a big anti-fascist rally in Rome. 

READ ALSO: Fears of ‘chaos’ as Italy set to adopt tough Covid green pass regime

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HEALTH

Italy’s schools warned to ‘avoid gatherings’ as Covid cases rise

As Italy’s new school year began, masks and hand sanitiser were distributed in schools and staff were asked to prevent gatherings to help stem an increase in Covid infections.

Published: 11 September 2023 12:48 CEST
Italy’s schools warned to ‘avoid gatherings’ as Covid cases rise

Pupils returned to school in many parts of Italy on Monday and authorities said they were distributing masks and hand sanitiser amid a post-summer increase in the number of recorded cases of Covid–19.

“The advice coming from principals, teachers and janitors is to avoid gatherings of students, especially in these first days of school,” Mario Rusconi, head of Italy’s Principals’ Association, told Rai news on Monday.

He added that local authorities in many areas were distributing masks and hand sanitizer to schools who had requested them.

“The use of personal protective equipment is recommended for teachers and students who are vulnerable,” he said, confirming that “use is not mandatory.”

A previous requirement for students to wear masks in the classroom was scrapped at the beginning of the last academic year.

Walter Ricciardi, former president of the Higher Health Institute (ISS), told Italy’s La Stampa newspaper on Monday that the return to school brings the risk of increased Covid infections.

Ricciardi described the health ministry’s current guidelines for schools as “insufficient” and said they were “based on politics rather than scientific criteria.”

READ ALSO:

Recorded cases of Covid have increased in most Italian regions over the past three weeks, along with rates of hospitalisation and admittance to intensive care, as much of the country returns to school and work following the summer holidays.

Altogether, Italy recorded 21,309 new cases in the last week, an increase of 44 percent compared to the 14,863 seen the week before.

While the World Health Organisation said in May that Covid was no longer a “global health emergency,” and doctors say currently circulating strains of the virus in Italy are not a cause for alarm, there are concerns about the impact on elderly and clinically vulnerable people with Italy’s autumn Covid booster campaign yet to begin.

“We have new variants that we are monitoring but none seem more worrying than usual,” stated Fabrizio Maggi, director of the Virology and Biosafety Laboratories Unit of the Lazzaro Spallanzani Institute for Infectious Diseases in Rome

He said “vaccination coverage and hybrid immunity can only translate into a milder disease in young and healthy people,” but added that “vaccinating the elderly and vulnerable continues to be important.”

Updated vaccines protecting against both flu and Covid are expected to arrive in Italy at the beginning of October, and the vaccination campaign will begin at the end of October, Rai reported.

Amid the increase in new cases, Italy’s health ministry last week issued a circular mandating Covid testing on arrival at hospital for patients with symptoms.

Find more information about Italy’s current Covid-19 situation and vaccination campaign on the Italian health ministry’s website (available in English).

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