Italy: Covid commissioner Figliuolo to step down on March 31

Rome: Italy’s emergency coronavirus commissioner, Francesco Paolo Figliuolo, has said that he will be standing down from the role on March 31.

The army general and logistics expert announced the news on Saturday at the Libri Come event in Rome during the presentation of his new book, Un Italiano, co-written with journalist Beppe Severgnini.

The date chosen by Figliuolo to stand down coincides with the end of the Italian government’s covid state of emergency legislation which has been in place since 31 January 2020.

“I think I have done my part”, Figliuolo said during the book launch at the Auditorium Parco della Musica, adding that he had “seen beautiful things and less beautiful things”.

Figliuolo has served as Italy’s covid commissioner since 1 March 2021 after the newly-installed premier Mario Draghi fired his predecessor Domenico Arcuri over complaints about the sluggish pace of the country’s vaccine campaign.

As of today, 49.3 million people in Italy – more than 91 per cent of the population over the age of 12 – have received at least one dose of the covid vaccine.