Italy to impose fines of up to €1,500 on unvaccinated citizens

Unvaccinated in Italy could be fined up to €1,500 under new laws

Citizens aged over 50 in Italy who have not been vaccinated will be fined €100, and those who try to go to work without having received the jab face penalties of between €600 and €1,500. According to the new measures adopted by the Government, those who access stores without at least presenting a negative Covid test could be fined up to €1,000.
These sanctions, included in the new decree law of the Council of Ministers of Italy, will become effective as of February 1. In order to go to work, public and private employees will have to show their reinforced health certificate from February 15.
This certificate can only be obtained when they are vaccinated, or have recovered from the virus. In the case of not having it, they could receive penalties of between e600 and €1,500.
Given the avalanche of infections, the Government has extended the vaccination obligation to university personnel, regardless of their age. They are now on the same level as school, health, and security personnel, who have already had to do so since mid-December.
In the case of public and private companies, the controls will be carried out by the employers, while in the courts it will fall to those responsible for security, and in the universities, to the directors of the centre.
Those who are absent from their jobs for not having the vaccination certificate will be suspended without remuneration. They will not receive a fine and will have the right to keep their job until they are vaccinated. However, after five days, the company will have the right to replace them.
The decree law also imposes new restrictions, such as the mandatory nature of a reinforced health passport for public transportation, as of January 10. This will apply as well to hotels, ceremonies, and festivals. Until now it was only required in leisure and catering establishments.
As of February 1, the basic passport, which includes the possibility of an anti-Covid test, will be mandatory to access stores. The only two exemptions will be food stores, and pharmacies, along with banks, post offices, and public offices. In the case of accessing these services without a passport, penalties of between €400 to €1,000 euros can be imposed.
This package of sanctions is a new impulse from the government of Mario Draghi to encourage vaccination in the country. At the moment, data shows that 89.22 per cent of those over 12 years of age have at least one jab. This Thursday, January 6, Italy had reported 219,441 new infections, as reported by cadenaser.com.

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