Nov 24, 2021 - World

Italy announces new COVID restrictions for the unvaccinated

Noah Garfinkel

A vaccine clinic in Molfetta, Italy. — Doctors at work in triage before administering the third dose of the COVID vaccine in Molfetta, Italy. Photo: Davide Pischettola/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Italy announced new COVID restrictions on Wednesday — barring unvaccinated people from dining indoors, attending shows, sports events, public ceremonies and entering nightclubs starting in December, the New York Times reports.

Why it matters: It follows a trend of public officials around the world imposing restrictions on unvaccinated people, as nations have struggled to get shots in arms, writes Axios' Shawna Chen.

Details: The restrictions will start on Dec. 6, and will last until Jan. 15th in areas of Italy where cases and hospitalizations are rising, per AP.

People attending any of the events where restrictions are in place must provide proof of vaccination in order to enter. Proof of vaccination will also be needed to enter a hotel or use public transportation.

The big picture: Italy has previously been very aggressive with vaccine mandates.

In October, it became the first country to require proof of vaccination or a negative test for employees in both public and private sectors.

What they're saying: “We’ve begun to return to normality. We want to conserve this normality,” Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi said on Wednesday.

Go deeper: World gets tough on the unvaccinated

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Italy announces new COVID restrictions for the unvaccinated

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