While nationwide rules already mean masks must be worn outdoors in public places in the evening, Lazio is the latest region to extend this rule to 24 hours a day.
“Masks are also mandatory during the day in Lazio,” regional health councilor Alessio D’Amato said at a press conference on Friday morning, held at the Lazzaro Spallanzani hospital in Rome and broadcast on social media.
The ordinance, signed by Lazio regional governor Nicola Zingaretti, came into force on Sunday.
D’Amato confirmed that the provision applies to everyone except for children under the age of six and those with health conditions that prevent them from wearing a mask.
“Masks are a powerful prevention tool which can stop the curve and send a message that we must follow rules,” he added.
“We need to rebuild together a path of responsibility as we have done in recent months together.”
Masks do not need to be worn by people exercising outdoors if they are alone.
Anyone who doesn’t comply with the rules can be fined up to €400.
The ruling came after Lazio recorded its highest number of new cases in one day since the beginning of the emergency, with 265 new infections detected in the region on Thursday.
Of those, 151 were in central Rome, and the city also recorded five deaths.
Lazio is the latest Italian region to make masks compulsory at all times in public, after Lombardy, Campania, Sicily and Calabria.
Several cities in Italy have also tightened restrictions after a sharp rise in cases.
Italian authorities are hoping that introducing timely local restrictions could be the key to avoiding another regional or even nationwide lockdown.
