In Pictures: Italy mandates masks as coronavirus case numbers rise again among young

Women wear masks as they walk on the street following a government decree that face coverings must be worn between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m. in areas where gatherings are more likely, due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Naples. With daily coronavirus case numbers rising, Italy imposed its first new restrictions on daily life since coming out of lockdown nearly four months ago, ordering the closure of nightclubs and mandating mask-wearing, even outdoors, in areas with nightlife.

Women dance on the sand at an outdoor restaurant of a beach in Fregene near Rome ."Put your masks on!" repeats the DJ, shouting vainly into his microphone, but the dancers below, dripping in sweat, don't seem to care. While the threat of a second wave of coronavirus looms nearer in several European countries, such as Spain, Italy is trying to stem new infections.

The new measures come as Italy faces its most precarious moment of the summer. School is due to start in less than a month, Italians are moving en masse for their August holidays, and tourists are coming in from other European countries that have seen even greater increases.

Italian Local Police officer speaks to people wearing a protective facemask as she patrols at the Spanish Steps square, in Rome. After being ravaged by the virus in March and early April, Italy has since emerged as an example of how a careful reopening - and widespread adherence to rules - can help restore a sense of near-normalcy. Italy in early March had the highest infection rate in Europe; throughout the summer, it has had one of the lowest. The number of people hospitalized in Italy with covid-19 has fallen from 33,000 to 800.

Italian Local Police officer patrols and checks with people wear protective facemasks at the Spanish Steps square, in Rome. Most European countries in recent weeks have started to report growing coronavirus case numbers, although at levels shy of the initial peak in March. Over the last week, Italy has detected roughly 500 new cases per day, well above the 200-a-day pace from earlier in the summer, but more than one-tenth below the height of the first wave. Health experts in Italy say they hope the country can avoid a true second wave. But there is concern about what will happen as school begins, temperatures drop and socializing moves to indoor spaces more hospitable for the virus.

But across the country, people have started to become more relaxed. Some shopkeepers and cafe owners wave off indoor mask-wearing obligations. And Italians have tried to reclaim some of their usual summer rites - zipping off to other Mediterranean countries while also welcoming visitors. Some 20% of Italy's recent cases stem from citizens who have traveled abroad, according to the country's National Institute of Health.

Young people wear masks as they walk on the street. Although the Italian restrictions are modest, they amount to a test of whether a country can keep the virus at bay without resorting to the blunt-force lockdown strategy used earlier in the pandemic. Italy's government is specifically targeting nightclubs and evening socializing as cases are increasingly detected among the young.

Passengers wearing protective mouth and nose masks have their temperature checked as part of the health security controls by a crew member as they board the MSC Grandiosa cruise ship prior to sailing from the northwestern port city of Genoa following the lifting of the lockdown several months ago to control the spread of the novel coronavirus, COVID-19, pandemic. - The first major cruise ship to set sail in the Mediterranean was poised to depart from Genoa as Italy's struggling travel industry hopes to regain ground after a bruising coronavirus hiatus, representing a high-stakes test for the global sector in the key Mediterranean market and beyond.

Italy has detected roughly 500 new cases per day, well above the 200-a-day pace from earlier in the summer, but more than one-tenth below the height of the first wave.