Authorities on Thursday registered 19,886 new cases in the previous 24 hours.
The number of deaths was relatively stable at 308.
Italian news agency ANSA quoted health experts as saying the rise in new cases is “a sign of a rapid spread of infectious virus variants”.
Politicians and virologists are especially concerned about several hotspots, such as South Tyrol and certain parts of Umbria and Lombardy.
The Lombardy and Veneto regions were the first to be struck when Italy’s first coronavirus wave began this time last year.
The central government recently extended existing restrictions under its three-tiered classification system, while regional authorities have also declared their own high-risk “red zones” in areas that have particularly concerning infection rates.
