OREANDA-NEWS. In Italy, on Friday, a government decision came into force on the mandatory presentation of the so-called green pass (electronic COVID certificates) for access to a workplace in production and in offices, both in the public and private sectors of the economy.

The Italian Council of Ministers approved such a decision exactly a month ago in order to give new impetus to the campaign for mass vaccination of the population and to ensure that 90% of all Italians over the age of 12 are vaccinated against the coronavirus. According to the Ministry of Health, as of Friday morning in the Apennines, 80.8% of citizens have fully completed the immunization process, and more than 85% have already received at least one dose of the vaccine. In this sense, the calculation of the authorities was justified: since September 16, the country has distributed 560 thousand first doses of vaccines more than expected.

Nevertheless, the vaccination campaign has shown that in Italy there are a significant number of citizens who, for one reason or another, are categorically reluctant to get vaccinated. The authoritative Gimbe Foundation, which specializes in medical issues, estimates that there are currently 3.8 million workers officially in Italy who are not vaccinated against COVID-19. Among them - 350 thousand road transport workers, 250 thousand civil servants, 60 thousand law enforcement officers, including 18 thousand police officers.

From now on, all these people run the risk of not getting to their jobs. According to the government's decision, for coming to work without a green pass, they face a fine of 600 to 1500 euros. Those who do not appear at the workplace will be counted absenteeism, although they will not be fired from their jobs. The only way out for this category of workers is to obtain a certificate after being tested for COVID-19. However, in this case, such workers will have to conduct this paid research every 48 hours.

Such a tough position of the authorities caused a sharply negative reaction, primarily from transport workers and port workers.

Finally, the authorities are seriously concerned about possible protests by opponents of vaccination, which are expected on Friday and the coming days throughout Italy.