The Italian government had previously introduced compulsory vaccination for teachers and health workers. Since October there has also been a 3G obligation for all employees in the workplace. Failure to comply will result in suspension from work without pay, but not dismissal.
The measures that were decided by the cabinet on Wednesday evening had led to friction in the run-up to the multi-party coalition of Prime Minister Mario Draghi (74).
The ministers of the right-wing Lega distanced themselves in a statement from the compulsory vaccination for over-50-year-olds and criticized that it was “without scientific basis, considering that the absolute majority of people hospitalized with Covid are well over 60 years old ». In the end, however, they still voted for mandatory vaccination.
Record number of new infections
Italy was later afflicted by the highly contagious Omikron variant as several northern European countries, but the number of confirmed cases has risen steadily in recent weeks, so that the hospitals and intensive care units are increasingly coming under pressure.
Over the past two weeks there has been an average of more than 150 deaths a day, with 231 deaths on Wednesday and 259 on Tuesday. 189,109 new infections were registered on Wednesday, the highest number in Italy since the beginning of the pandemic. (SDA / gin)