ROME – On the eve of entry into force of the Green Pass in Italy (from tomorrow), necessary to access restaurants, museums, cultural centers, swimming pools, gyms and to attend shows or participate in festivals (to name a few), the same document is extended to new categories, as already widely anticipated in recent days: school staff, first of all. But it will be necessary to show the “vaccination passport” also to travel on long-distance trains (excluding, however, local transport).

Today, the Council of Ministers led by Prime Minister Mario Draghi therefore gave the green light to the provision that has been talked about so much and which supplements the one that established the current Green Pass. This “passport” will therefore become mandatory in Italy for professors and university students as well as for all school staff of all levels. The intention of the Italian government is in fact to ensure the resumption of face-to-face teaching for all. To this end, the introduction of green certification for teachers and “ata” staff (secretaries, janitors, etc) will be envisaged, while vaccination in the 12-19 age group will continue to be “strongly recommended” (but not mandatory).

Teachers who do not have the certificate will be suspended and will not receive their salary after 5 days of absence. All school and university staff, the decree reads, “in order to guarantee public health and maintain adequate safety conditions in the provision in the presence of the essential education service”, must have the Green Pass. “Failure to comply with the provisions is considered unjustified absence and, starting from the fifth day of absence, the employment relationship is suspended and no remuneration or other remuneration or emolument, however named, is due”.

No obligation, we said, for underage students for whom, however, another measure has been envisaged that at least favors a screening of the very young: the tampons for them will have controlled prices. The hypothesis of the free of charge anti-Covid tests, government sources explain, was instead discarded because it could have discouraged children from getting immunized.

As for transport, the Green Pass will only be required on longer-distance routes. The measure, government sources explain, will come into force on 1 September even if during the control room it was decided to bring forward the start of its implementation to 20 August. The green certificate, on ferries, will not be necessary for intra-regional travel. As far as buses are concerned, the outlines of the mandatory nature of the Green Pass are being defined: the hypothesis is that it applies to bus journeys that cross two regions. From 1 September the Green Pass will in any case be mandatory for long-distance planes and trains. Local public transport and intra-regional ferries, on the other hand, will be exempted.

As explained by the Minister for Regional Affairs, Mariastella Gelmini, responding to the question time in the Chamber: “As regards public transport, the capacity will be 80% even in the yellow zone. The pass is a measure of reasonableness and common sense that it does not aim to prohibit but to favor the spaces of freedom of citizens and avoid new closures and lockdowns”.

Another novelty concerns the quarantine for vaccinated people who have contact with a Covid-19 positive person: the isolation period will be 7 days, instead of 10, at the end of which it will be necessary to make a molecular swab. For the unvaccinated, however, the quarantine will remain for 10 days.

Meanwhile, the Green Pass comes into force tomorrow, which is essential for all citizens over the age of 12 to freely carry out certain activities including: access to indoor restaurants; enter the cinema, theater or museums; engage in physical activity in the gym; participate in festivals, enter stadiums, congress centers and structures for large events; consume at the bars indoors at the table except for the service at the counter; move in and out of territories classified as red or orange zones.

The Green Pass is obtained after vaccination (the first dose or, of course, two), or if you have been negative on the molecular or rapid antigen test in the last 48 hours or if you have recovered from COVID-19 in the last six months. All detailed information is here: https://www.dgc.gov.it/web/

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