Italy reported another record increase in new infections on Wednesday, registering 15,199 new cases in 24 hours.
Another 127 people died, up from 89 the previous day.
Two of the regions currently reporting the highest numbers of new cases, Lombardy and Campania, have imposed the strictest limits on movement since Italy ended its nationwide lockdown.
In Campania, schools have been closed for the rest of the month and residents are now restricted from leaving their own province unless it’s essential.
The town of Arzano, on the outskirts of Naples, has been declared a “red zone” and is under total lockdown due to a spike in cases.
In Lombardy, people must now stay indoors nightly between 11:00 pm and 5:00 am.
The northern region on Wednesday reported its highest number of new cases in one day since the pandemic began, detecting more than 4000 positives out of some 36,000 tests in the past 24 hours.
In Lombardy’s biggest city, Milan, a field hospital in a conference centre has been reopened as local authorities brace for a surge in more serious cases.
Rome and the surrounding region will also be under curfew at night from Friday onwards as local authorities tighten the rules in response to a surge in cases.
The governor of the Lazio region, Nicola Zingaretti, is expected to sign a new ordinance on Wednesday night that will impose a curfew for 30 days from October 23.
Lazio also plans to order secondary schools to move at least 50 per cent of teaching online from Monday, while for universities the quota is 75 per cent.
The region reported 1219 new cases on Wednesday, out of a total of more than 20,000 tests.
Many other regions, including Piedmont, Liguria and Trentino-Alto Adige, have reduced face-to-face learning at schools in order to contain the spread of the virus.
One of Italy’s leading public health experts has warned that Italy’s biggest cities have so many infections by now that tracing and testing is no longer enough to effectively contain the surge.
Walter Ricciardi, who advises the Italian government on the pandemic, said that the next resort should be to begin limiting movement.
While Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte has urged people to “limit unnecessary travel”, he insisted that Italy should avoid another nationwide lockdown as the country would be unable to recover financially.
