According to the 3G rule, from October 15 employees should only be allowed to come to their workplace vaccinated, recovered or tested. The decision was taken at a Council of Ministers meeting on Thursday, as Italian media reported unanimously.
The passport – a digital or paper certificate showing that a person received at least one dose of vaccine, tested negative, or has recently recovered – is also valid for caregivers who work for families. Anyone who appears for five days without a vaccination certificate, a negative test, or a certificate stating that they have recovered from the coronavirus will be suspended from work without a salary. A termination is excluded. The validity of the corona tests will be extended from 48 to 72 hours. The government guarantees a price of 15 euros. The unions’ demands for free tests for workers were rejected by the government.
The government of Prime Minister Mario Draghi also demands that the Green Passport obligation also apply to parliamentarians, employees of the Quirinal, the seat of the state president, and the constitutional court. However, due to the principle of self-determination, the decree extending the Green Pass cannot automatically be applied to the constitutional organs. Parliament has to decide for itself whether it will require a Green Passport from the mandataries and staff. The obligation to provide certification is also extended to persons who work in non-profit organizations.
With the extension of the Green Pass, the government hopes to urge more Italians to vaccinate. The cabinet’s goal is to reach the 80 percent threshold for those vaccinated within a month. According to the government, 13.9 million employees have so far had the Green Passport, 4.1 million do not yet have one. According to the government commissioner for the vaccination campaign, Francesco Paolo Figliuolo, Italy can count on the complete vaccination of 44 million people by mid-October, which would be 81.7 percent of the vaccinable population over the age of 12.
Italy had already introduced compulsory vaccination for health workers in May, which was extended to employees of retirement homes last week. School staff, university professors and students must show the green passport. The measure is controversial. Most recently there were violent protests against the corona policy across the country in Italy. Demonstrations against the Green Pass have been taking place in major cities on Saturdays for two months.
