Italy has recorded an explosion in the number of sick leaves since October 15, when the health pass became mandatory to go to work, social security said Thursday.
According to figures sent to AFP, on Friday, October 15, 94,113 sick leaves were issued by attending physicians against 76,836 a week earlier, an increase of about 28%.
Since October 15, the obligation to present the health pass has been extended to all workplaces.
Employees refusing to comply incur a salary suspension, but presenting a sick leave allows them to not go to work while retaining their salary.
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On Monday, October 18, 192,174 sick leaves were issued against 165,061 a week earlier, an increase of around 16.4%.
The health pass certifies that the carrier has been vaccinated, or cured after contracting Covid-19, or even passed a negative test.
The introduction of the mandatory health pass has also led to a significant increase in the number of rapid antigenic tests, with more than 900,000 tests performed on Monday, around 600,000 on Tuesday and 800,000 on Wednesday, according to the government website.
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The first European country to be affected by the epidemic in February 2020, Italy paid a heavy price with more than 130,000 deaths.
Rome launched its vaccination campaign in December of the same year and nearly 82% of people over 12 are now fully vaccinated (almost 86% including those who received a first dose).