The Italian government, which has seen a resurgence of infectious diseases due to the Omicron variant, decided on Wednesday, December 29, to apply for vaccine passes at transport, hotels, restaurant terraces, fairs, congresses, swimming pools and gyms. These measures will take effect on Monday, January 10, by decree-law “Introduces Immediate Measures to Prevent the Spread of Kovid-19 Infectious Disease” Approved by the Council of Ministers chaired by Mario Draghi.

Until now, to board a train or a plane, it was enough to have a “basic” health pass, which can be obtained not only because of vaccination but also through a negative test. The so-called “reinforced health pass” in Italy is available only after completing the full vaccination cycle or after recovering from Kovid-19. In Italy, some professional groups, such as health workers and law enforcers, currently require a vaccination pass.

The government on Wednesday also decided to remove the 10-day quarantine for contact cases of those who have been vaccinated or recovered from the Kovid-19 vaccine. Those who do not get vaccinated will have to stay on quarantine for ten days. This relaxation in quarantine laws aims to prevent the paralysis of certain areas, such as transportation, where many employees of the quarantine, for example, have had to cancel several trains.

Like its European neighbors, Italy is experiencing a significant return to epidemics in recent days. About 100,000 new cases (98,020) were reported on Wednesday, and more than 600,000 people are currently positive.