The Vatican will suspend the salary of its employees who do not present a coronavirus health pass

The Vatican suspend the salary of employees who are absent from work for not having the health certificate of coronavirus covid-19, mandatory to enter the small pontifical state as of October 1, as published today.

The Vatican It will thus become one of the first countries to oblige its employees to present this certificate.

By order of Pope Francisco, it was established that from October 1, both workers and visitors to the Vatican City or the places of jurisdiction of the Holy See will have to present a health certificate of covid-19, but in the first regulation it was not specified if there would be sanctions.

It was specified then that the faithful who attend liturgical ceremonies and the Masses that are celebrated both in San Pedro and in the parish of Santa Anna will be exempt from this obligation, but it remains unclear whether audiences or Angelus are also included in the square. of San Pedro.

In the case of the general audiences on Wednesdays that are held in the Paul VI classroom, thousands of faithful usually congregate, who are forced to wear a mask, but the safety distance is not respected.

With the new decree signed by the Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, it was established “that personnel who are not in possession of the necessary certifications will not be able to access the workplace” and “will be considered as unjustified absent and, during the duration of the absence, will not receive the salary ”.

Furthermore, workers who do not have a covid-19 vaccination certificate or who have passed the disease may, “as an alternative, present a certificate of negativity to the Sars-Cov-2 virus, issued in Italy after a rapid molecular or antigenic test ”, But the cost will be borne by the worker.

In addition, the Vatican City reserves the possibility of applying further restrictions to those who come from countries with “high risk of contagion.”

Francisco requested this norm “in order to adopt all the appropriate measures to prevent, control and counteract the public health emergency in the State of Vatican City,” according to the ordinance of the Interior, the government of the City from the Vatican.

Also in Italy from next October 15 it will be mandatory to present the health certificate to access the workplaces.

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