A 50-year-old man in Italy has attempted to fraudulently obtain a Covid-19 vaccine certificate by presenting a “fake arm” to a medical worker.
The accused, who was visiting a vaccination centre in Turin, is reportedly a member of the anti-vaccination movement and needed the certificate to enter public places following new legislation in Italy mandating a Covid-19 vaccine passport.
The nurse attempting to administer the jab at first thought his arm was real, before noticing it was a strange colour and she could not find a vein.
“The colour of the arm made me suspicious and so I asked the man to uncover the rest of his left arm. It was well made but it wasn’t the same colour,” she told Italian daily La Republica.
The accused will now face prosecution in a local court, authorities said.
Italy was initially one of the countries hit hard by the coronavirus, as infections soared across Europe in the spring of 2020. It has since struggled to convince a segment of its population to reject anti-vaccination conspiracy theories.
Around 71 per cent of the population have had two Covid-19 vaccinations.
The country has now moved to implement a vaccine “green pass” to help convince those hesitant or opposed to having a vaccine, as health authorities brace for a wave of the new Omicron variant of the virus, thought to be much more transmissible than the globally dominant delta variant.
In pictures: Europe struggles with Delta wave
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A Father Christmas figure holds Covid-19-related hygiene instructions for visiting the Christmas market in Hagen, western Germany. AFP -
People wait to be vaccinated below Albrechtsburg castle and the cathedral in Meissen, Germany. AP -
A pupil at the Petri primary school in Dortmund, western Germany. AFP -
A drive-in vaccination centre at Lanxess Arena in Cologne, Germany. Reuters -
Shoppers in face masks at a Christmas market in Frankfurt, Germany. Bloomberg -
People in a queue reported to be 700 metres long wait to be vaccinated at the Philharmonic Hall in the northern German city of Hamburg. AFP -
A medical worker administers a vaccine to a patient in a dressing room at the Theatre de Verdure vaccination centre in Nice, France. Reuters -
Cyclists on a 'coronapiste', a temporary cycle path created during the pandemic in Paris, France. Mayor of Paris Anne Hidalgo set up about 60 kilometres of new cycling roads to take pressure off public transport during the pandemic. AFP -
A healthcare worker administers a vaccine during a vaccination campaign for foreign tourists in Benidorm, Spain. AFP -
Visitors have their Covid-19 health passes checked at the Christmas market in Trento, Italy, on its opening weekend. Reuters -
Health workers administer booster shots at San Giovanni Addolorata Hospital in Rome, Italy. EPA -
The closed Christmas market next to Stephen's Cathedral, which would normally be packed with crowds of people, in Vienna, Austria. The country is under a nationwide lockdown. AFP -
An unusually quiet street decorated with Christmas lights in Vienna, Austria. AFP -
People queue to receive a vaccine in Vienna, Austria. AP -
Police patrol the centre of the northern city of Zwolle, where an emergency order is in force after three nights of unrest in the Netherlands over new Covid-19 measures. AFP
