Italy's Campania region to shut down schools to curb surge in COVID-19 infections - statement

FILE PHOTO: People wear face masks after the southern Italian region of Campania made it mandatory to wear protective face coverings outdoors 24 hours a day, as part of the efforts to contain the coronavirus outbreak, in Naples, Italy, September 25, 2020. REUTERS/Ciro De Luca

Italy's southern Campania region, around Naples, on Thursday announced it would shut down schools until the end of October, the region said in a statement, in an effort to curb an increase in COVID-19 infections.

On Thursday Italy recorded 8,804 new coronavirus cases in 24 hours, its highest daily tally since the start of the outbreak, of which some 1,127 were in Campania.

(Reporting by Angelo Amante; Editing by Chris Reese)