Italy is moving to drop its Wuhan virus health pass system, but the EU member-state will maintain mask mandates for public transit, cinemas, and other venues until the middle of June.
Italy will be scrapping the Green Pass system, the country’s health pass on May 1st as part of the government’s plan to gradually lift restrictions after the state of emergency for the pandemic ended at the end of March.
However, not all restrictions will be lifted on May 1st, as the government plans to continue mask mandates for public transit, long-distance travel, cinemas, theatres, live music venues, and all indoor sports events, Italian newspaper Il Giornale reports.
Masks will also be required in Italian schools until the end of the school year and both patients and medical professionals will be required to wear masks.
Masking in other spaces, including restaurants, bars, supermarkets, and shops has been lifted as part of the new lifting of restrictions.
While the Green Pass is being scrapped, Italy will still require medical professionals working in hospitals to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 until at least the end of the year. Those who refuse could face permanently losing their jobs.
Italy is one of the last countries in Europe to still require a health pass to access certain venues, as most European countries have already scrapped their vaccine passport systems over the course of this year.
Mask mandates remain in force in several European countries, but others have scrapped them for most indoor venues.
Earlier this month, Spain scrapped indoor masking requirements exactly 700 days after implementing the policy, with Minister of Health Carolina Darias stating: “We are in a favourable epidemiological context that makes it possible to make the use of one of the most symbolic elements of the pandemic more flexible: masks; without a doubt, motivated by the very high vaccination coverage.”
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