Italy bans New Year events as coronavirus cases climb to pandemic record
- Face masks will be compulsory outdoors, and discos and dance clubs will be shut until January 31 to prevent mass socialising during the holidays
- Italy on Thursday registered a record 44,595 new Covid-19 cases – an increase of more than 70 per cent in just a week
Italy has tightened restrictions to curb surging Covid-19 infections, including banning all public New Year’s Eve celebrations, as daily infections hit a record high, the government said on Thursday.
Health Minister Roberto Speranza said mask wearing would be compulsory outdoors again and ordered people to use the more protective Ffp2 face masks on public transport and in public places, such as theatres, cinemas and at sports events.
In addition, concerts and open-air events will be banned until January 31, and discos and dance clubs will have to shut their doors until that date, in an effort to prevent mass socialising during the holiday period.
The announcement came on the day Italy registered a record 44,595 new coronavirus cases – an increase of more than 70 per cent in just a week, with the infectious Omicron variant starting to flare across the country.
Deaths are also starting to creep up, rising to 168 on Thursday, the largest number since May, but they remain well below rates seen during previous infection surges thanks mainly to the large number of people vaccinated in Italy.