Italy to crack down on vaccine refuseniks with ‘green pass’ plan

Italy has followed France to impose compulsory vaccination as a condition for access to public spaces and events.

A woman receives a Covid jab on a ‘vaccination centre bus’ operating in the small towns of South Tyrol, Italy. Picture: Getty Images.

Italy has followed France to impose compulsory vaccination as a condition for access to public spaces and events as the European Union announced it had fully vaccinated more than half its adult population.

A “green pass” proving a single dose of vaccine or a negative swab will grant access to indoor dining, theatres, gyms, cinemas and stadiums from August 5.

“The green pass is not an arbitrary imposition but a condition for keeping economic activities open,” Prime Minister Mario Draghi said. “I invite all Italians to get vaccinated and to do it immediately.”

Daily coronavirus cases have been rising recently, passing 5000 on Thursday for the first time since May.

Roberto Speranza, the Health Minister, said that “vaccination, vaccination, vaccination” was the answer to the challenge posed by the Delta strain. He said Italians were familiar with the device. “Forty million green certificates have already been downloaded,” Mr Speranza said.

Matteo Salvini’s League party and the Five Star Movement, both members of Mr Draghi’s coalition, have flirted with anti-vax sentiment. Mr Salvini, 48, who has not been vaccinated, told La Repubblica at the weekend that he didn’t want anyone chasing his 18-year-old son with a syringe.

Italy has been following President Emmanuel Macron of France, whose compulsory Covid health pass for entry to restaurants, cafes, hospitals and long-distance trains has sparked sometimes violent protests from libertarian and anti-vax groups. MPs have tabled more than 1000 amendments to delay passage of the measures, due to take effect on August 1. The text is expected to be unchanged but Mr Macron’s deadline for approval of this weekend is out of reach.

The EU said on Thursday (Friday AEST) that more than 200 million adults – at least half the bloc’s adult population – had been fully vaccinated. A spokeswoman admitted, however, it was some way off the 70 per cent summer target it had set.

Dana Spinant said that the latest data from the European Centre for Disease Control reported that “54.7 per cent of the adult population is fully vaccinated with either two doses or one dose in the case of the Johnson and Johnson vaccine [which requires a single injection]”. She added: “We have 68.4 per cent of adults in the EU who have already had their first dose.

“We are now among the regions of the world that have vaccinated the most but it is important that … there are no pockets where the virus can spread and mutate.”

Chancellor Angela Merkel has warned that infection rates are rising at a “worrying” rate but has so far ruled out compulsory vaccinations. She urged Germans to get inoculated to enable the country get back to normality.

“A steadily rising vaccination rate makes it possible to deal with higher case rates than in the first three waves without the health system becoming overwhelmed,” she said. “We all want our normality back but we won’t attain this normality alone but only as a community and for that we need significantly more vaccination protection.”

Mrs Merkel urged people to encourage others to get vaccinated. “Talk to each other in the family, at work, in the football club, everywhere where people know and trust each other,” she said.

By Thursday, 50.26 million Germans, or 60.4 per cent of the population, had received a first dose and 48 per cent were fully vaccinated.

In Israel, which has led the world in the rollout of its inoculation program, the government of Naftali Bennett said that a “green badge” to prove vaccination would be required for cultural and sports events involving more than 100 people from July 29.

The government said that entry would be permitted to people who had been vaccinated, who had recovered or who had a negative test. The certification requirement would apply to restaurants, conferences, tourist attractions and places of worship.

In Athens, police fired tear gas and water cannon to disperse crowds protesting against mandatory vaccinations for healthcare workers, nursing home staff and firefighters. Under a draft bill, workers could be suspended without pay next month if they fail to comply.

Public health records suggest that about 45 per cent of the Greek population has had two vaccine doses.

Additional reporting: Charles Bremner

THE TIMES