From 6 August, in Italy the “Green Pass” for catering and indoor activities is mandatory even in campsites

It is not long before 6 August, the date on which in Italy it will be necessary to have the “Green Pass” to access any restaurant service at the table, which takes place inside, and to various indoor activities, such as seeing shows, participating in events and competitions sports, access to swimming pools, gyms, wellness centers and SPAs, as well as cultural and recreational centers, or participate in conferences and congresses.

This is the provisions of Law Decree no. 105 of 23 July (Art. 3 – paragraph 1). In addition to bars, restaurants and hotels, all accommodation facilities, such as campsites, are also affected. However, it will not be necessary to show the “Covid-19 Green Certification” to access and stay at the campsite as well as for catering and outdoor activities.

According to Article 3 – paragraph 4, the owners or managers must verify that customers, before accessing the indoor services and activities, are in possession of the Green Pass. In the event of a violation, a financial penalty is envisaged, ranging from 400 to 1,000 euros, to be borne by both the operator and the user. If the violation is repeated 3 times on 3 different days, the business could be closed from 1 to 10 days.

The trade associations are obviously worried about the repercussions that this decision could have on new bookings and on possible cancellations of customers who, in doubt, prefer to give up. Precisely for this reason they asked for clarification on the matter.

The VerificaC19 app

To check the authenticity of the certification, the free VerificaC19 app was made available, which must be installed on a mobile device. It is available for both the iOS operating system from version 12.1 or higher and for Android from release 8. This application can be used offline, i.e. without having an Internet connection, and does not store any personal information on the verifier’s device.

Campsite managers or owners, before allowing access to the restaurant service or any indoor activity, must request certification from the customer, who must show the QR Code in digital or paper format.

The VerificaC19 app reads the code, extracts the information and proceeds with the check of the qualified electronic seal, then applies the rules to verify that the certification is valid. It also graphically shows the verifier the actual validity as well as the name, surname, and date of birth of the holder of the same. Furthermore, the customer must show their own valid identity document so that it is possible to check that the personal data comply with those displayed by the app.

How to get the Green Pass

The Green Pass, or Covid-19 green certification, in Italy can be issued in three cases:

• after the administration of the first dose of vaccine, with validity from the 15th following day until the date scheduled for the administration of the second one (in the case of a double dose vaccine); however, it is valid for 9 months from the completion of the vaccination cycle
• after healing from Sars-CoV-2 infection, and in this case it is valid for 6 months
• after carrying out a rapid molecular or antigen test with a negative result, valid only for 48 hours.

The issuance of the certification is communicated via e-mail or SMS. From that moment it is possible to download it by accessing the dedicated digital platforms, such as the IO and Immune applications, or to your Regional Electronic Health Record system. Contains a two-dimensional barcode (QR Code) with a digital signature of the Ministry of Health to prevent falsification. It can be stored on your mobile device, but you can also print it.