Italy Requires COVID-19 Health Card For Access To Museums, Cinemas And Bars

Illustration of a queue of Italian citizens who want to shop during the COVID-19 pandemic. (Wikimedia Commons/Ian-Art.photography)

JAKARTA - Italian authorities will tighten health permits for people who want to access a number of public facilities in the country starting August 6. Only those who hold a COVID-19 health card or 'green pass' in Italy can access various public facilities.

Cited from Euronews, Friday, July 23, a COVID-19 health card is required if you want to access swimming pools, fitness centers, and exercise rooms, sports competitions, concerts, exhibitions, to cultural places, including museums and theaters.

This license which also applies to cinemas, restaurants, and bars, does not apply to nightclubs that are still included in the category of places that are closed under government regulations.

The health card will prove the holder has received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, has recovered from the illness, or tested negative in the previous 48 hours. Previously, this provision was required to attend wedding receptions and visit nursing homes.

Prime Minister Mario Draghi said late on Thursday at a cabinet meeting it was agreed to make the health permit an instrument to allow Italians to continue their activities, with the guarantee of not being among people who are contagious.

Illustration of COVID-19 in Italy. (Unsplash/Gabriella Clare Marino)

PM Draghi emphasized that green permits are not an arbitrary matter, it is a condition for people to keep open and run the wheels of their economic activities.

"Even in the parameter definition, the options are to continue normally with multiple regions in the yellow zone, as they will exceed the previous parameters, or to introduce green clearance and change the parameters to keep the region white, but with green clearance", said PM Draghi.

The decision has been the subject of debate within the majority government, with the leader of the far-right League party, Matteo Salvini, warning against cruel, improvised, and unmeasured choices that exclude the majority of Italians from their right to work and move freely.

To note, the current daily increase in the number of COVID-19 cases across Italy passed the 5.000 mark on Thursday, the first time since May 21, underscoring the increase in infections for the fourth week in a row.

"The Delta variant is a threat, as it spreads faster than the other variants", PM Draghi warned.

"I invite all Italians to receive the COVID-19 vaccine and do so immediately", he urged, noting that more than half of Pizza Country's population had completed its vaccination program.