Date
2022-09-30
The Draghi government, despite having lost the confidence of Parliament and now on its way out, never fails to run true to form with its dreadful way of working and its lack of respect for citizens. Tomorrow a series of restrictions expire, but Mr Speranza has no intention of departing without leaving behind the worst possible memory of himself.
Here, then, is how the situation should look from 1 October (the conditional is as necessary as ever):
• The obligation to wear face masks for workers, users, and visitors of healthcare, socio-healthcare, and residential care facilities, expiring on 30 September 2022, has been extended until 31 October 2022 by an ordinance of the Ministry of Health, which can be read here: Ministry of Health Ordinance of 29 September 2022
• Unvaccinated healthcare workers remain barred from the workplace until 31 December 2022; nothing changes, and the government continues to violate Articles 1, 4, 35, and 36 of the Constitution, which establishes Italy as a democratic republic “founded on labour”;
• Face masks are no longer compulsory on means of transport of any kind (Art. 10-quater of Decree-Law 52/2021);
• Provisions concerning the green pass for access to healthcare and socio-healthcare facilities remain unchanged (see the in-depth analysis here);
• Workplace: masks are no longer compulsory and no longer qualify as personal protective equipment; the protocol on measures to combat the Covid-19 disease in private workplaces has been extended until 31 October; however, the new protocol provides for masks to be merely recommended and subject to a possible requirement only under the following conditions:
• upon the advice of the occupational health physician or the head of the prevention and protection service of the competent local health authority (ASL),
• only for specific duties and high-risk work environments,
• for specific workers exposed to risk,
• for vulnerable workers,
• in the event of an outbreak within the company.
• The situation in schools has slightly improved. In general, masks are not compulsory. However, in the event of one or more pupils displaying symptoms consistent with Covid-19, provided they are mild, the obligation returns for these pupils to wear FFP2 masks until the symptoms resolve.
• For confirmed cases of Covid-19 (with or without symptoms), the rules on self-isolation for infected individuals (subject to isolation by order of the health authority – the mayor – until recovery is confirmed) and close contacts also apply in schools (- 10 days of quarantine if unvaccinated, with a negative test at the end; - 5 days of quarantine if vaccinated, with a negative test at the end; - asymptomatic individuals vaccinated with a third dose, or vaccinated within the past 120 days, or recovered within the past 120 days, are not subject to quarantine but must wear an FFP2 mask for 10 days). A negative swab remains compulsory for confirmed cases to return to school. For full details, one may consult Art. 10-ter of Decree-Law 52/2021 as amended by Art. 4 of Decree-Law 24/2022, the “School Covid” handbook of the Ministry of Education, and two circulars, No. 60136 of 30.12.2021 and No. 19680 of 30.03.2022, both issued by the Ministry of Health.