Clashes in Turin over new virus lockdown measures

Protesters turned out in the hundreds in Italian cities and towns on Monday to vent their anger, sometimes violently, over the latest coronavirus rules.

In the northern city of Turin, demonstrators broke off from a peaceful protest, setting smoke bombs and hurling bottles at police in a main city square where the Piedmont regional government is headquartered, RAI state TV said.

A photographer was injured by a hurled bottle, RAI said.

Protests began following the national government's latest order requiring bars, cafes and restaurants to close their doors at 6pm for the next 30 days as Italy tries to rein the resurgence of coronavirus infections in recent weeks.

Police fired tear gas and used water cannons to clear the protesters in Piazza del Castello.

In that same square, hours earlier, some 300 taxis peacefully lined up in neat rows to draw attention to their economic losses from the implosion of tourism and disappearance of workers from the city centre as they do their jobs remotely during the pandemic.

Triggering the violence in Turin were a group of "ultras," as violent soccer fans are known, the LaPresse news agency said.

It said five of the protesters were detained by authorities.

Since most Italians don't dine out before 7:30 pm at the earliest, or even later, the decree effectively wiped out most of the restaurants' already reduced revenue in the pandemic, although takeout and delivery can continue until midnight.

The crackdown was announced on Sunday, a day after Italy registered more than a half-million confirmed COVID-19 cases since the pandemic's outbreak.

(Image Credit: AP)