Coronavirus: Italy tightens nationwide restrictions amid record COVID-19 cases

Italy’s Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte tightened nationwide coronavirus restrictions Sunday after the country recorded a record number of new cases, despite opposition from regional heads and street protests over curfews.

Cinemas, theaters, gyms and swimming pools must all close under the new rules, which come into force on Monday, while restaurants and bars will have to stop serving at 6pm, the prime minister’s office said.

Italy, the first European country to be hit hard by the pandemic and impose a nationwide lockdown, on Saturday clocked nearly 20,000 new cases in a 24-hour period.