Italy's Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte has tightened nationwide coronavirus restrictions after the country recorded a record number of new cases, despite opposition from regional heads and street protests over curfews.

Cinemas, theatres, gyms and swimming pools must all close under the new rules, which come into force on Monday and run until Nov 24, while restaurants and bars will stop serving at 6pm, the prime minister's office said.

Italy, the first European country to be hit hard by the pandemic and impose a nationwide lockdown, clocked nearly 20,000 new cases in a 24-hour period.

“Semi-lockdown for a month,” said the Repubblica daily, noting Conte had done little to appease regional heads who had appealed for much softer measures to save ailing businesses devastated by the lockdown in spring.