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 In a recent decree Mario Draghi's government made vaccination
mandatory for everyone over the age of 50 and for use of public
transport and a range of other services, one of very few countries
to take similar steps, in an attempt to ease pressure on Italian
health services and reduce fatalities.
Amnesty International asked for the provision of alternative
measures, including the use of masks and COVID-19 testing, to allow
the unvaccinated population to continue to go to work and to use
public transport "without discrimination", the group said in a
statement issued late on Saturday.
Under current rules, which will run until June 15, wearing a mask
and having a negative COVID-19 test is not sufficient to access
public transportation or, for people over the age of 50, to their
workplaces.
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 Amnesty International Italia,
the local chapter of the human rights group,
said that mandatory vaccination could be
justified but needed to be limited in time and
"proportionate" to a legitimate aim of public
health protection.
"The government must continue to ensure that the
entire population can enjoy its fundamental
rights, such as the right to education, work and
medial treatment, with particular regard to non-COVID
patients who need urgent surgery," it said.
(Reporting by Giulio Piovaccari; Editing by
Emelia Sithole-Matarise)
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