Italy adopted new restrictive measures on Sunday 25 October: bars and restaurants will have to stop serving at 6 p.m.

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Francesco Fotia / AGF / SIPA

Farewell movies and drinks between colleagues or friends ... Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte on Sunday tightened restrictions against the coronavirus, after the publication of record figures of new infections, despite the opposition of the governors of regions and demonstrations against the curfew . 

Cinemas, theaters, gyms and swimming pools will have to close from Monday until November 24 under these new restrictions, while bars and restaurants will have to stop serving after 6 p.m., the Prime Minister's services said.

20,000 new cases in 24 hours

Some 20,000 new cases of coronavirus have been recorded in the last 24 hours in Italy, according to the count announced by the authorities on Saturday, a national record.

In total, more than 500,000 cases of infection and 37,000 deaths have been recorded in the first European country to be hit hard by the pandemic.

"Semi-confinement for a month," proclaimed the daily Reppublica, stressing that Giuseppe Conte had not made much effort to appease the governors of the regions, who advocated less radical measures to save companies hard hit by the confinement of spring.

Schools remain open

Schools and kindergartens will remain open, however, with 75% of classes in high schools and universities being held online.

The population was called upon to avoid public transport and travel outside the communities as much as possible.

The new measures were announced hours after a demonstration by dozens of far-right supporters protesting the curfew, who clashed with riot law enforcement overnight from Saturday to Sunday in the center of Rome.

Some 200 masked activists belonging to the neo-fascist group Forza Nuova threw projectiles at the police and set bins on fire.

In Naples (south), incidents had already broken out the previous night, when young people opposing the curfew had confronted the police.

These incidents follow the decisions taken this week to impose a curfew in three regions: those of Rome (Lazio), Milan (Lombardy) and Naples (Campania).

But regional governors have warned that shutting down businesses will exacerbate social tensions as the spring lockdown plunged Italy into its worst post-war economic recession.

The governor of the region of Friuli Venezia Giulia (north-east), Massimiliano Fedriga, appealed to the Prime Minister, warning that "social tensions are growing and the risks are worsening if we do not adopt fair measures and reasonable ”.

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