Zingaretti appeals for sense of responsibility in battling covid-19.

The president of Italy's central Lazio region, which includes Rome, has requested that people reduce their social contacts for the "next 20/30 days" in a bid to curb the spread of covid-19.

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Nicola Zingaretti, who is also the leader of Italy's centre-left Partito Democratico party, said that "For at least a month we must raise our guard to lower the contagion curve," reports Italian news agency ANSA.

"We need rules and a sense of responsibility" - Zingaretti told reporters on 22 October - "It is up to all of us to have responsible attitudes."

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The comments by Zingaretti, who contacted coronavirus himself in March, come as Rome and the Lazio region prepare for a new curfew to come into effect tonight.

The Lazio region registered 1,251 new coronavirus cases on 22 October, of which 623 were recorded in Rome.