Millions of Italians who are cooped under a nationwide lockdown woke up this morning to learn they can no longer use public parks.
The mayors of many cities decided yesterday to close public playgrounds and parks.
Health authorities lament that too many people have been gathering in parks, whether to kick around a soccer ball or jog in groups.
Italy has the world's largest outbreak of the novel coronavirus after China.
New infections in Italy increased Friday by more than 2,500 and virus-related deaths made their biggest single-day jump there, increasing by 250.
In the three weeks since the country identified its first virus cluster, Italy has reached a total of 17,600 confirmed cases.