Italian Premier Mario Draghi attends a press conference at Chigi Palace government office in Rome, Thursday, July 22, 2021. With COVID-19 cases rising again, Italy will start requiring people to have a so-called “green pass” to access venues like gyms, museums and indoor restaurants. Certification that one is vaccinated, has recovered from COVID-19 in the last six months or tested negative in the previous 48 hours will let people dine at indoor restaurants, go to movies, sports events, casinos and other indoor recreational venues. (Roberto Monaldo/LaPresse via AP)

ROME (AP) — With daily COVID-19 cases sharply rising again, Italy will soon require people to have passes reflecting their health status to access gyms, museums, movie theaters, the inside of restaurants and other venues.

Premier Mario Draghi’s government approved a decree Thursday ordering the use of the so-called “green” passes starting on Aug. 6. To be eligible for a pass, individuals must prove they have received at least one vaccine dose in the last nine months, recovered from COVID-19 in the last six months or tested negative in the previous 48 hours.

The passes will be needed to dine at tables inside restaurants or cafes, to attend sports events, town fairs and conferences, and to enter casinos, bingo parlors and pools, among other activities. according to officials.

The certification is needed to “to keep economic activity open? and will allow people to enjoy entertainment “with the assurance they won’t be next to contagious people,” Draghi said.

“The Italian economy is going well. It’s reviving, and Italy is growing at a rhythm superior to that of other EU nations,” the premier told reporters.

Some 40 million people in Italy have already downloaded a “green pass,” Health Minister Roberto Speranza said. He noted that the certification is already required to attend wedding receptions and to visit residents of care homes.

More than half of people in Italy older than 12 and thus eligible for COVID-19 vaccines have received two doses, and several million more have received a first dose.