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IN PHOTOS: Italian cities stand empty under new coronavirus rules

The Local Italy
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IN PHOTOS: Italian cities stand empty under new coronavirus rules
A soldier stands in Italy's Piazza Duomo on Monday November 9th. All photos: AFP

Four regions are under a "soft" lockdown after being declared high-risk red zones, while the whole of Italy is under a 10pm curfew.

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The eerie sight of empty streets in Italy's usually packed city centres returned this weekend after strict new rules came into force.

READ ALSO: Italy's new coronavirus rules at a glance

The streets in Milan, Turin, and other cities within the country's four 'red zone' regions have been almost empty as movement was strictly curtailed from Friday.

Milan's downtown Porta Garibaldi district on Saturday morning after new restrictions came in. Photos: Miguel Medina/AFP

Under the new three-tier system of restrictions, Calabria, Lombardy, Piedmont and Val d'Aosta have been under the strictest measures since Friday.

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In red zones, restrictions on movement resemble those imposed earlier this year during the  severe national lockdown, with residents warned not to leave their homes other than for essential reasons.
 
Downtown Milan on Saturday. Photos: Miguel Medina/AFP
 
Under the rules, which apply until at least December 3rd, non-essential shops as well as bars and restaurants are closed.
 
The southern regions of Puglia and Sicily were classed as medium-high risk 'orange zones' while the rest of the country is yellow, or moderate risk.
 
Turin's famed city-centre landmarks were unusually quiet on Friday. (Top: Porta Palatina. Bottom: Piazza Castello). Photos: Marco Bertorello/AFP

But even cities in lower-risk yellow zones, including Rome, were noticably quieter than usual this weekend despite being under lighter restrictions.

At night, streets were quiet across Italy under the new nationwide evening curfew from 10pm until 5am.

Rome's Largo dei Librari and Trevi Fountain standing empty aside from a police patrol on Friday night: Photos: Alberto Pizzoli/AFP

Doctors on Monday demanding a total lockdown nationwide in order to curb the continued rise in new coronavirus cases.

Italy's leading health experts warned on Monday that the situation is "largely out of control" in the country.

Milan's trams and metro had few passengers on board on Saturday. Photos: Miguel Medina/AFP

Italy was the first European country to be hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic in March, and the government imposed a more than two-month lockdown that battered its already struggling economy.

Infection rates slowed over the summer but, as in other parts of Europe, the virus has surged once again in recent weeks.
 
At the end of last week, around 450 virus deaths were being recorded each day, with more than 30,000 new daily cases.

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