FLORENCE, ITALY – A COVID 19 Green Pass vaccine passport will be needed to get into Italian eateries indoors, open-air shows, spas, swimming pools, gyms, fairs, congresses and competitive examinations. Discos will remain closed.
The measure will be contained in a new government decree that Premier Mario Draghi unveiled at a press conference on live TV on Thursday evening.
The new pass will be required for the indoor premises of Italian restaurants and bars from August 6, but will not be needed for counter service. Having had one shot of the jab will be enough.
The use of the Pass on public transport such as regional and long-distance trains and buses will be discussed at a later date.
Italy’s COVID state of emergency is to be extended to December 31. It was to have run out at the end of this month.
Parameters for saying when Italy’s colour-coded COVID-risk zones will turn from white to yellow are to be changed with the number of cases no longer being the criterion, but rather when the thresholds of 10% of COVID occupancy in ICUs, and 15% of all hospital admissions, are reached.
To go from yellow to orange, the thresholds will be 20% of ICUS and 30% for overall admissions; and to turn red they will be 30% and 40% respectively.