"Homosexuals" considered high-risk group for COVID-19 along with prostitutes? ... Italian health authorities finally issue public apology

Published 14 Feb.2021 20:34(KST)

Participants of the gay pride parade held in Bogot?, the capital of Colombia, last July, are holding hands. [EPA=Yonhap News archive photo] / Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Eun-young] It has recently come to light that a health authority in Italy classified homosexuals as a high-risk group for COVID-19 alongside drug addicts and prostitutes, drawing criticism. As the controversy spread, the health authority issued a public apology.

According to local media such as the daily Il Messaggero on the 14th (local time), a COVID-19 vaccination guideline document published by the health authority in La Spezia, a city in the Liguria region of northwest Italy, classified homosexuals as a high-risk group for infection.

The document, written in October last year, categorized high-risk groups into 30 categories. Homosexuals were listed tenth, grouped under the category of "individuals engaging in risky behaviors" alongside drug addicts and prostitutes.

This information was revealed during a review process after the La Spezia City Council requested related materials from the health authority.

Perucho Sansa, chairman of the city council, shared the document on his Facebook, criticizing it by saying, "Linking homosexuality with the COVID-19 virus is a complete error," and emphasized that discrimination based on sexual orientation should not occur.

As the controversy escalated, the La Spezia health authority issued a public apology, calling it a "clear mistake." They also promised to revise the problematic guidelines.

Meanwhile, it was revealed that the problematic guidelines referenced blood donation guidelines created by the central government’s Italian Ministry of Health in 2018. The Ministry of Health also announced that it would review and amend the previously written guidelines.