Italian authorities handed out over 900 fines to violators of the country’s covid pass systems, including the “Super Green Pass”, a stricter version of the Green Pass coronavirus passport.
Monday saw the introduction of the Super Green Pass, which requires recovery from the Chinese virus or full vaccination to enter venues like restaurants. Monday also saw tighter restrictions for accessing public transport, with travellers needing the Green Pass, rolled out earlier this year, which indicates proof of vaccination, recovery, or a negative test.
Across Italy, local police carried out a total of 120,000 investigations regarding the new coronavirus vaccine passport system, imposing penalties on 937 people trying to access public transport without a Green Pass, with 175 business owners sanctioned in relation to the Super Green Pass.
Italian newspaper Il Giornale reports that many people attempted to avoid the €400 (£343/$453) fine by claiming that their phones were broken or that the certificate would not appear on their phone. Despite this, the police handed out the fines anyway and barred them from travel.
While some have made excuses to police, one man in the city of Biella attempted to obtain the Super Green Pass without taking the vaccine by wearing a silicone arm to his vaccination appointment.
Infrastructure Minister Enrico Giovannini stated that the checks for the vaccine passport had gone well and the Interior Ministry said that it would be verifying how well the measures were working and would refine them if need be.
The statement comes after an earlier report claimed that in the city of Milan, the first day of the Super Green Pass had been confusing to many and police had complained about a lack of personnel to properly enforce the new rules.
“I have been around since this morning. I took several trips but no one asked me for a shred of a document. Controls? I haven’t seen any,” a man on the Milan metro told Il Giornale earlier this week.
The newspaper noted that just 40 people in teams of two were assigned to check for the Green Pass on Milan’s public transit system.