The Italian government has approved a decree repealing fines of 100 euros ($636) against people who failed to comply with the mandatory vaccination against Covid-19 during the pandemic.
The measure was included by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's office in the “Milleproroghe” (“A Thousand Extensions” in free translation) decree, through which the government extends the validity of regulations that are about to expire.
Since taking office, Meloni suspended fines against so-called “anti-vax” people for 12 months in 2022 and 2023, but now the government has canceled them definitively. The revocation, however, only applies to those who still had outstanding debts – those who have already paid the fines will not be reimbursed.
“The decision to cancel fines for anti-vaxxers is the umpteenth shameful page written by Giorgia Meloni. Explain to doctors and nurses this unworthy electoral currency on their skin,” said deputy Marco Furfaro, from the center-left Democratic Party (PD).
“Removing fines against anti-vaxxers is not only an insult to millions of Italians who respected the rules, but a grave offense against health workers and all Covid victims.
The Meloni government, in order to gain one or two more votes, humiliates the memory of those who are no longer here,” reinforced the deputy and former minister Maria Elena Boschi, from the centrist party Italia Viva (IV).
Meanwhile, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Infrastructure and Transport Matteo Salvini, leader of the nationalist League party and one of the main critics of restrictive measures during the pandemic, argued that it is time to “look forward”.
“It is right to close the dispute with the past once and for all, and canceling fines and sanctions is a sign of national pacification,” he declared.
The fine had been created during the government of Mario Draghi (2021-2022) and targeted people over 50 years old and employees of schools, security forces and the health sector, categories that were required to get vaccinated. (HANDLE)
FOLLOW ITALIANISM
