Italy to end ban on unvaccinated health workers as Covid rules ease

Italy is poised to lift some of its last Covid-19 measures, Health Minister Orazio Schillaci said on Friday, saying the move would help "return to normality."
The minister, who does not belong to any political party, wants doctors and other employees in the medical sector who are not vaccinated against Covid-19, and are therefore still suspended, to be reinstated and back to work.
In addition, daily reports from the Ministry of Health on the numbers and developments in the pandemic will be replaced by a weekly roundup.
Schillaci says he is relying on Italians' sense of responsibility. More and more restrictions have been lifted in the past few months, most recently the mask requirement on public transport such as buses or trains.
Currently, masks are only required in hospitals and care facilities. Critics want to change that as well.
"After more than two and a half years of the pandemic, we are still unable to declare a final victory over Covid-19," President Sergio Mattarella warned on Friday and continued to urge caution. "But we have the impression that the worst phase is behind us."