ROME – People not vaccinated against the coronavirus in Italy will not be able to go to movies, theater, concerts or important sporting events, according to the new restrictive measures, which came into force as of this Monday, to stop infections at Christmas.
Italy, like its European neighbors, is facing a rebound in coronavirus infections, which is why it adopted a new package of measures. The only exception to the rule is for people who have recently overcome covid-19, who also have access to the so-called “super green pass” that is granted to those vaccinated and in effect until January 15, 2022, with the aim of making the holiday period safer and encouraging vaccinations
However, there is a “basic green pass”, which is obtained with a negative test, sufficient to access the workplace.
This passport was required to travel by plane or on long-distance trains, but now it will also be required for local transport, that is, bus, metro and regional trains. The controls began this Monday morning at stations across the country and on Sunday a record number of 1.3 million health passports were downloaded.
In Rome, near the Piazza del Popolo, a large urban square in Rome, a fifty-year-old man, without the document, was fined €400 (US$450 dollars) when he got off the bus, according to the Il Corriere della Sera.
“I do not have the certificate because I have not yet been vaccinated, although I want to do it in the next few days,” the man told the Corriere. In addition, this weekend, the mandatory use of the mask came into force in Rome in the most commercial arteries frequented by the Christmas holidays.
Italy, the first European country severely affected by the pandemic in early 2020, has so far registered just over 134,000 deaths. Even if infections increase, the situation is better than that of neighboring countries, with an average of between 15,000 and 20,000 new cases daily in recent days. Almost 85% of those over 12 years of age are fully immunized, the campaign for the third dose is underway, and vaccines for children ages 5 to 11 will soon be available.