⁍ Italy is considering tightening nationwide restrictions in response to a spike in COVID-19 cases.

---

⁍ Government would urge schools to alternate between online and in-person lessons.

---

⁍ New measures could be approved by the government by Monday, according to Italian media outlets.

---

– The death toll from the deadly strain of bird flu in Italy now stands at more than 36,000, with more than 10,000 new cases reported last week, the AP reports. The country had managed to get the flu under control over the summer, but it’s now looking to tighten restrictions nationwide in response to a spike in cases. “We are working on some measures,” Giovanni Toti, head of the north-western region of Liguria, said on Facebook, per Reuters, adding that schools would be encouraged to alternate online and in-person lessons, and companies would be urged to increase remote working. But he said officials, for the moment, were not going to introduce a nightly curfew or further restrictions to bars and restaurants. New measures could be approved by the government by Monday, according to Italian media outlets. Italy, the first major European country to be hit by COVID-19, had managed to get the contagion under control by the summer thanks to a two-month lockdown on business and movements. But infections have soared in recent weeks. Italy posted 10,010 new infections on Friday, according to the health ministry, the highest daily tally since the start of the country’s outbreak. The country has the second-highest death toll in Europe after Britain, with over 36,000 fatalities since the outbreak flared in February, according to official figures.