Italian centre of Europe's coronavirus outbreak imposes new restrictions

Northern Lombardy region accounted for more than a fifth of the 10,000 new cases Italy reported on Friday

Italy's Lombardy region, which in February became the initial centre of Europe's Covid-19 outbreak, issued new restrictions as it struggles to contain a surge in cases.

All amateur sporting events have been postponed in the northern region, Italy’s most populous.

Bars have to shut at midnight and will only be able to serve customers seated at tables after 6pm.

The consumption of food and alcohol has also been banned in outside areas to prevent people from gathering.

The measures will remain in place until November 6.

Italy's Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte will announce new measures on Sunday to counter the surge in cases.

Medical workers demonstrate in Paris. AP Photo

A medical worker fires a red flare in Paris. French President Emmanuel Macron has announced that millions of French citizens in several regions around the country, including in Paris, will have to respect a 9pm curfew from this Saturday. AP Photo

The protest is part of a nationwide day of action to urge the government to increase staff as hospitals fill once again. Reuters

A health worker wearing a protective mask reading "midwife scorned" demonstrates in Rennes. AFP

A protester delivers a speech with a protective mask on his microphone in Rennes. AFP

Rennes also saw demonstrations as part of a nationwide day of protests. AFP

French health workers march through Paris. Reuters

A protester rallies fellow health workers in Paris. Reuters

Last Friday, Italy announced 10,000 new cases for the previous 24 hours, more than 2,000 of them reported in Lombardy.

The region's government called for schools to adopt a hybrid system, alternating between online and in-person teaching.

Hospitals are also under strain and intensive care beds are close to being fully occupied.

Italy's other hard-hit region of Campania, in the south, also put restrictive measures in place, including shutting schools for two weeks.

The country has the second-highest death toll in Europe after the UK, with more than 36,000 confirmed fatalities.

Cities across Europe are introducing new restrictions to combat a second wave of infections.

A 9pm-6am curfew in Paris and eight other French cities began on Saturday, a day after France reported more than 30,000 new cases.

In London, people are barred from mixing with others from different households, while tougher measures are in place in Liverpool in north-west England.

About 12,000 extra police officers have been sent across the country to enforce the measures. The UK’s official Covid-19 death toll is 43,579.

German leader Angela Merkel called for her country, which has not been hit as hard as other major European nations, to pull together after a record new 7,830 cases were reported overnight.

"Difficult months are before us," she said. "How winter will be, how our Christmas will be, that will all be decided in these coming days and weeks, and it will be decided by our behaviour."

Germany has registered more than 361,000 coronavirus cases and about 9,850 deaths.

A Catalan doctor protests on the second day of a four-day strike to demand better working conditions amid the coronavirus outbreak, in Barcelona, Spain. Reuters

Morning rush hour commuters wear protective face masks while passing a poster showing the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France. Bloomberg

A man wearing a face mask walks past a statue of the Beatles, as new measures across the region are set to come into force in Liverpool. AP Photo

A teacher sorts drawings in an empty classroom at a closed school in Prague, Czech Republic. Amid widespread efforts to curb the new wave of coronavirus infections in one of the hardest hit European countries, the Czech Republic closed all of its schools. AP Photo

A health care worker administers a flu vaccine to a man at a temporary vaccination centre in Las Rozas, near Madrid, Spain. Getty Images

People walk in an empty Tuileries gardens in Paris, France. AP Photo

People wearing masks are seen on a ferry following the new social restrictions announced by the Dutch government in Amsterdam. Reuters

A medical worker performs a rapid antibody test during the Covid-19 pandemic in Berlin, Germany. AP Photo

Commuters wearing masks on a busy metro train in Paris, France. Bloomberg

A member of parliament sits between plexiglass shields in Vienna, Austria. Reuters