Italy requires COVID-19 pass for all workers from Oct. 15

By COLLEEN BARRY
Associated Press

MILAN (AP) — Italian workers in both the public and private sectors will be obliged to provide a health pass to access the workplace from Oct. 15 under a decree that has been approved by Premier Mario Draghi’s broad-based coalition government. The measures are the first by a major European economy requiring proof of vaccination, a negative result on a recent virus test or having recovered from COVID in the last six months to access places of work. Slovenia and Greece both adopted similar measures this week. But Italy’s 2-trillion-euro economy, the third largest in the European union, is a far larger target, and the measure underscores the government’s determination that Italy will not face another lockdown even as the numbers of new virus cases creep up, mostly among the unvaccinated.