Hundreds of people in the southern Italian city Naples protested until the early hours of Saturday against a curfew and a planned regional lockdown amid a spike in coronavirus cases.
The demonstrators chanted slogans and marched in front of the seat of the regional government, throwing fireworks and lighting smoke bombs, the news agency ANSA reported, adding that police used tear gas against the protesters.
Vincenzo De Luca, president of Campania, announced on Friday the region would go into lockdown due to a major spike in coronavirus infections.
Campania recorded 2,280 daily cases, De Luca told a Facebook live event, a nearly 50% increase from the 1,541 reported on Thursday.
"We will proceed towards closing everything," he said, proposing a shutdown "for a month, 40 days."
19,143 cases in one day
The regional decree implementing the measure will be adopted on Saturday or Sunday, ANSA reported, quoting regional government sources.
Shortly after he spoke the Civil Protection agency reported 19,143 new coronavirus cases across the country, a new daily record that brought the total infections count to 484,869.
There were also 91 new deaths, taking the overall death toll to 37,059, and intensive care patients rose above 1,000 for the first time in more than five months.
Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte's administration has so far resisted calls for a country-wide shutdown, arguing that the economic and social cost would be too high.
