Italian MP chased out of parliament by security for protesting green pass

Demonstrators wave ‘no green pass’ placards after government announces vaccine passport scheme to access indoor venues

An Italian MP holding a “no green pass” sign was chased out of parliament by security during a protest against Italy’s vaccine passport scheme (Gilbert Collard/@GilbertCollard/Twitter)

An Italian MP was filmed being chased out of parliament by security guards after waving a placard in protest against the country’s “green pass” scheme.

Video footage shows the man dodging security as they try to grab the sign, which says “no green pass”, out of his hands.

The politician is chased out of the chamber by one guard as numerous other MPs make their way down to the floor holding similar signs.

The parliamentary session was temporarily suspended amid cries of “shame” aimed at those protesting.

Their demonstration on Thursday evening came after the Italian government announced it would introduce a vaccine passport scheme for accessing indoor venues amid rising coronavirus cases driven by the Delta variant.

The “green pass” will reflect whether a person has received at least one vaccine dose, recovered from Covid-19 in the last six months or tested negative within the past 48 hours. It comes into force on 6 August.

The pass will be needed to gain entry into swimming pools, gyms, theatres, cinemas, museums, exhibition centres and big events such as conferences and sports games.

It will also be required to be served indoors in restaurants.

Public demonstrations have been held across Italy in recent days, including in Rome, Florence and Milan, where protesters have claimed the green pass is a violation of their freedom.

Italy reported 19 new coronavirus deaths on Thursday, while daily infections rose by 6,171. This is compared to 15 deaths and 5,696 cases a day earlier.

Since the country’s Covid outbreak began in February 2020, Italy has registered 128,029 deaths linked to the disease – the second-highest toll in Europe after the UK.

Patients in hospital with Covid, not including those in intensive care, stood at 1,730 on Thursday.