Italy set to make Covid pass compulsory for all workers

Italy is set to be the first European country to require all workers to have a Covid pass. The controversial move would reportedly mean that only unemployed people and pensioners will be exempt from having a “green pass”.

If the move goes ahead Italy will be the first country in Europe to make coronavirus health passes mandatory for all staff. So far a draft proposal has been presented by the Italian government but it is expected that from the start of October workers in both the public and private sectors will need to be able to show a digital vaccine certificate.

The government hope that the potential move would mean that more people would get vaccinated and that this will see the infection rate fall. The government is worried that Covid cases could soar over the winter.

If the Covid pass is made compulsory then anyone who is working would need to be able to prove that they have been fully vaccinated against the coronavirus, have a recent negative test or are recovering from Covid.

Speaking to Radio Rai, Mariastella Gelmini, the Regional Affairs Minister commented that: “The government is ready to speed up the introduction of the health pass.

“We are moving towards making the health pass compulsory not only in the public sector but also in the private sector.”

It is expected that the Italian government will approve the measure in a new decree imminently.

Gelmini added that: “The vaccine is the only weapon we have against Covid and we can only contain infections by vaccinating the large majority of the population.”

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