Italy begins to require the Anti-Covid Certificate in Bars and at leisure

Italy begins today to require the anticovid health certificate to consume in bars and restaurants, as well as in closed places of leisure, a measure not without criticism, which in September will also be extended to teachers and transport.

The certificate, which specifies that its carrier has received at least one dose of the vaccine, has passed COVID-19 or has a negative test, is available in paper and digital versions and has already been downloaded by two out of three Italians.

The Government of Mario Draghi wants to encourage people to get vaccinated to avoid closures and new restrictions at all costs as of this summer.

As of August 6, the “green certificate” is mandatory to consume inside bars and restaurants, but also to access closed spaces such as gyms, cinemas, theaters, museums, stadiums or large events such as concerts.

The measure has sparked demonstrations throughout the country, as it is seen as a tacit obligation to be vaccinated, since whoever does not have the document is practically excluded from leisure and culture in Italy.

But also because of its imprecision. The managers of the 270,000 restaurants and bars in the country, for example, complain that they will have to act as “policemen” with their clients and denounce a series of contradictions in the implementation of the measure.

Among other things, they demand that the legal responsibility for the inappropriate use of the certificate does not fall on them, since it is possible that people will lend it to them, advises the employers’ association FIPE-Confcommercio.

Despite the criticism, the Executive is convinced of the convenience of this measure and in fact last night it extended it to education and means of transport with a decree that will take effect next September.

The health certificate will be mandatory for all teachers, from school to university, and also for university students, and before returning to the classroom, a covid test will be carried out to the entire educational community.

The decree stipulates suspension of employment and salary for school teachers who do not present the certificate, while the sanction for university teachers will depend on each rector because they have their own independent statute.

The Minister of Education, Patrizio Bianchi, pointed out that at the moment the number of teachers without this document is marginal.

In transport, the certificate will be mandatory to board a plane and to use the boats that connect the peninsula, except those that link the strait that separates Calabria, the tip of “the Italian boot”, with Messina, on the island of Sicily (south).

The document will also be requested on long-distance trains between cities, on sleeper trains and on buses that cross more than two regions, informed the Italian Minister of Transport and Infrastructure, Enrico Giovannini.

In the case of transportation, the measure will be in effect from September 1 to December 31, when the state of emergency expires, unless it is renewed again.