Amnesty seeks COVID-19 inquiry into Italian nursing homes

By NICOLE WINFIELD
Associated Press

ROME (AP) — Amnesty International is calling for an independent parliamentary inquiry into COVID-19 deaths in Italian nursing homes and reports of retaliation against nursing home staff who spoke out about unsafe conditions there. Amnesty based its findings on interviews with 34 health care workers, as well as union leaders and lawyers. The human rights watchdog said Friday that a third of the workers “raised concerns about a climate of fear and retaliation in their workplace.” Italy’s nursing homes, like those elsewhere in Europe, the U.S. and beyond, saw a major share of COVID-19 deaths. Prosecutors in dozens of jurisdictions have opened criminal investigations, though the biggest one, involving a Milan facility, was recently shelved with no charges filed.