Corona vaccinations will be mandatory for residents of Italy aged 50 and older. The government has unanimously decided that, reports ANSA news agency. The obligation applies until mid-June, is stated in the law that must reduce the virus and relieve care.
Read everything about the coronavirus in this file.
Vaccination is already mandatory for healthcare workers and teachers. Since October, employees have been required to provide proof of vaccination or a negative test before they are allowed to go to their workplace. For people over 50, the latter option expires. In case of violation, the original plan was subject to a fine of up to 1,500 euros, but that has lapsed.
“We want to slow down the growth of the infection curve and encourage the Italians who have not yet been vaccinated to do so. We are mainly targeting age groups most at risk of hospitalization to reduce the pressure on hospitals and save lives,” said the prime minister. Mario Draghi, who managed to forge the compromise. The proposed measures caused division within the government. Ministers of the right-wing League had previously distanced themselves from the 50-plus rule, which would have no scientific basis.
As in other countries, the number of infections is also rising rapidly in Italy. Health authorities reported more than 189,000 new cases on Wednesday, a record. Of the 1.1 million tests, about 17 percent were positive. 231 people died of Covid-19 in the past 24 hours, 28 less than the day before.
Italy previously considered a vaccination obligation for residents aged twelve and older, but that did not materialize.
Shortly before the turn of the year, the government had already announced that it would tighten measures, especially for unvaccinated people. For example, people who have not been vaccinated are no longer allowed to go to a hotel, trade fair, gym or festival. Ski lifts and public transport are also prohibited.
Press care
The pressure on healthcare in Italy is increasing daily, perhaps as a result of the more contagious omikron variant. Currently, 13,364 corona patients are in hospitals, more than 400 more than Tuesday. There are 1428, 36 more in intensive care units than the day before.
Some other European countries have also made vaccination compulsory. Austria has announced that it will make vaccination mandatory for people over 14 from February and in Greece it will apply to people over 60 from 16 January.
Also read: Parents do not like weekly self-tests with children: “Do they realize what they are saying?” (+)
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