Lockdown for unvaccinated not needed says Ricciardi

(ANSA) - ROME, NOV 17 - Walter Ricciardi, a top physician and an advisor to Health Minister Roberto Speranza, said Wednesday that Italy does not need to follow Austria's lead and impose restrictions that would only apply to people not vaccinated for COVID-19.
    Some governors have called for unvaccinated-only measures to combat an upswing in contagion.
    "We don't need a lockdown for the unvaccinated," Ricciardi told Radio Capital.
    "Austria took this decision because it is behind with the vaccination campaign and has an incidence (of COVID cases) to 10 times higher than ours".
    Ricciardi also said that he expected this Christmas to be "more tranquil than in 2020".
    Over 86% of the Italian population over 12 have had at least one dose of a COVID vaccine and over 84% are double-jabbed or better.
    Furthermore, the Green Pass COVID health certificate, which shows that a person is vaccinated for the coronavirus, has recovered from it in the last six months or tested negative in the last few days, is obligatory to access places of work in Italy.
    Ricciardi stressed, however, that having seven million people in Italy who are still not vaccinated for COVID was "too many".
    He also said that the fact someone can obtain a Green Pass for 48 hours by doing a swab was the "Achilles' heel" of this system in Italy.
    The expert said that, when a COVID vaccine is approved for children under 12 in Europe, it will probably be recommended, but not obligatory, in Italy. (ANSA).