Italy banned all public New Year's Eve celebrations to curb surging COVID-19 infections as daily infections hit a record high, the government announced on Thursday.
Health Minister Roberto Speranza said mask-wearing might be compulsory outdoors again, calling on people to use the more protective Ffp2 face masks on public transport and in public places, such as theatres, cinemas, and sports events.
In the same vein, concerts and open-air events shall be banned until Jan. 31. Dance clubs will also have to shut their doors until that date in order to prevent mass socializing 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% in just a week, with the infectious Omicron variant starting to flare across the country.
Deaths in the country also started to creep up, rising to 168 on Thursday, the largest number since May, according to reports.
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