MNI BRIEF: Italy Faces Supply Disruption Friday On Covid Pass

Italy may face significant supply chain disruption from Friday when a new Covid health pass becomes mandatory for workers, business lobbies said, pointing to low rates of vaccination among truck drivers and port workers.

Some 40% of dockers and 30% of commercial drivers are unvaccinated, according to business lobby Conftrasporto-Confcommercio. 85% of commercial transport in Italy takes place by road, said Coldiretti, the main agricultural entrepreneur lobby.

Workers at the port of Trieste, the largest for goods, have refused an offer of free covid tests if they are not vaccinated and anti-vaccine protestors could block the port, a spokeswoman for the Trieste port authority told MNI.

Some 250,000 out of 3.2 million public employees and 2.2 million out of 14.6 million private sector workers are unvaccinated, according to Public Administration Ministry estimates. Supply chain problems have disrupted output and fed inflationary pressures around the world.