Just days after France introduced a compulsory health pass to visit cultural and entertainment venues across the country, Italy is launching a similar scheme, extending the COVID-19 digital certificate to make it necessary for access to cultural, health and wellness facilities. and entertainment establishments in Italy.
Vaccine passports are becoming increasingly popular as countries find ways to allow secondary businesses to continue to operate safely during a pandemic by preventing the spread of the virus. Denmark was the first country in Europe to launch a COVID-19 virus scheme so that fully vaccinated people, as well as those who had a negative result or were cured of the virus, could visit places such as restaurants, museums and theaters. France followed suit this week, issuing its own health passport – and now it’s Italy’s turn.
From August 6, people will need to prove vaccination, recovery from COVID-19 or a recent negative test for indoor use, such as museums, theaters, football stadiums, swimming pools, spas, gyms and theme parks. The “green pass”, as it is called, is an extension of the EU’s COVID-19 digital certificate, and it will also be required to work indoors in bars and restaurants, the Italian government announced on Thursday.
The introduction of the green pass is intended to stimulate the introduction of the vaccine, as the Delta strain is spreading rapidly throughout Italy. “The delta variant of the virus is dangerous,” Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi told a news conference Thursday night. “Without vaccination, we must close everything again,” he added.
The green pass can be presented in digital or paper format. In Italy, he states that the vaccine owner received at least one injection of the vaccine (AstraZeneca, Pfizer, Moderna or Johnson & Johnson), tested negative in the previous 48 hours or was cured of the virus in the last six months.
Tourists traveling to Italy from an EU country must present an EU digital certificate at COVID-19 to enter the country, and from 6 August they can use this certificate to enter places under the green pass scheme. In the case of vaccination, they will need to be vaccinated.
Italy is open to tourists from low-risk countries, including the United States, Japan and Canada, and travelers arriving from these countries must provide proof of vaccination before traveling with a medical document that complies with EU and Italian regulations. For Americans, this is a “white card” with the CDC logo. It is likely that these health certificates can be used to enter places where a green card is required, but the full information has not yet been confirmed. Always check the latest government advice before traveling.