Face masks will have to be worn at all times out of doors in the Italian capital Rome and the surrounding Lazio region, local authorities have ruled in an effort to counter rising coronavirus infections.

Italy on Thursday registered more than 2,000 new coronavirus cases for the first time since the end of April. Lazio accounted for some 265 of those cases and has been increasingly concerned by the growing contagion.

A number of other Italian regions, including Campania centred on Naples, have already made mask-wearing obligatory outdoors. Previously, masks had to be worn only in closed public spaces, such as shops and cinemas.

“Most of the cases are tied to the lack of respect in using masks and in social distancing,” Lazio's health chief Alessio D'Amato told reporters as he announced the new measure.