ROME. With 36 thousand cases in 24 hours, a new record of the fourth wave, and the Omicron variant that opens “a new phase” of the pandemic, “every possible precaution” must be taken to stop the virus’ race. Prime Minister Mario Draghi yesterday announced the new tightening that will be decided by the control room, which began around 11.15, and by the Council of Ministers this afternoon, at 17: duration of the Green Pass reduced to 6 months, recall of the vaccine four months after the second dose, also vaccinated swabs for big events, starting from New Year’s Eve parties, return to smart working. And, above all, compulsory vaccination for other categories of workers up to the possibility of extending the Super Green Pass to all workplaces. Proposal that, if it were to pass, would not allow the unvaccinated to work.
The control room was preceded by a meeting at Palazzo Chigi between the Prime Minister and the leader of the Lega Matteo Salvini.
Present at the meeting with Draghi, the president of the Css and coordinator of the Cts Franco Locatelli, the president of Iss Silvio Brusaferro, the heads of delegation of the parties that support the government Roberto Speranza (Leu), Stefani Patuanelli (M5S), Dario Franceschini (Pd), Mariastella Gelmini (FI), Giancarlo Giorgetti (Lega), Elena Bonetti (M5S) and Economy Minister Daniele Franco.
The first figure to emerge from the control room is that Omicron’s diffusion in Italy is 28.2%. As an immediate consequence of the surge in infections, the government intends to extend the obligation of outdoor masks throughout Italy. Confirmation comes from several government sources.
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Masks
A point on which there is substantial agreement between the political forces, also because many regions have already moved on their own, is the obligation to wear a mask outdoors even in the white area. We are thinking of imposing the use of the Ffp2 for all closed places, therefore in workplaces, on public transport but also in cinemas, theaters and restaurants.
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Green Pass and 4 month recall
There is also an agreement on a new reduction in the duration of the Green Pass: it will be worth 6 months. A decision strictly connected to the one that will arrive from AIFA in the next few hours: the advance of the vaccination booster from 5 to 4 months and the extension of the third dose also to 12-18 year olds. The certificate, Draghi points out, “has emphatically become an instrument of freedom” and, instead, we have to deal with the decline in vaccine protection after 6 months.
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Vaccine obligation and smart working
Draghi seems to have ruled out one of the most controversial issues, the requirement of a vaccine for all, which however “remains in the background”. But at the same time he made it clear that there will be an extension to other categories “in a very short time” and that there will be a return to massive use of smart working. What are the categories, government sources explain, will be the results of the flash survey to indicate this. If the prevalence of Omicron is above 20% it is likely that the obligation could be triggered in all workplaces. With lower percentages, however, it could be extended to those who work in contact with the public or to all public employees. But there is also a very strong hypothesis on the table: extending the super Green Pass to all workplaces to “recover” those 2.3 million Italians between 40 and retirement age who are not vaccinated.
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Pad for New Year
Draghi confirmed that the government also wants to intervene on tampons: «In the Green Pass there is a period in which the protection of the first two doses decreases rapidly and the third has not yet been done. And in that period it can be useful to make a tampon ». So whoever wants to participate in New Year’s Eve parties or go to the disco will have to swab if he has not done the third dose. And it is not excluded, not even by Draghi, who will be able to do them for free as requested by various political forces, in order not to penalize those who have followed the indications of the government. But on the table of the CDM there could be another option: the exclusion of antigenic pads to obtain the Green Pass.
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4 other regions towards yellow
The next few hours will also be decisive for color changes: the data on hospitalizations say that on New Year’s Eve other regions could be added to the 5 and the two autonomous provinces already in yellow. Piedmont already has all the parameters for the change of band but Lazio, Lombardy and Sicily are also at risk. And if the infections do not stop, Friuli Venezia Giulia, Veneto, Liguria and Calabria in January could go into orange, an area that triggers with an incidence of over 150 cases per 100 thousand inhabitants, intensive care at 30% and ordinary wards at 40% .
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clear watches
