Under a new ordinance on Thursday, masks are now compulsory 24 hours a day throughout the region, which includes Italy's third biggest city of Naples. 

The new rule, which will remain in place until at least October 4th, comes in response to a rise in cases and is designed to prevent tougher restrictions becoming necessary. 

“We need to get back to behaving responsibly right away, even more so with the reopening of schools,” said regional governor Vincenzo De Luca.

“If we want to avoid wider closures we need the utmost rigour.”

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Campania recorded 248 new infections on Wednesday, more than any other region in Italy, with 191 in Naples alone.

The region now requires masks regardless of whether you're socially distanced from others, including outside and throughout the day, though there are exceptions for children under 6, people who can't wear a mask for health reasons, and people exercising on their own.

It is the latest part of Italy to tighten the rules on masks, after the cities of Genoa and La Spezia in Liguria introduced similar requirements.

Since Wednesday it has been obligatory to cover your face 24 hours a day around Genoa's port and throughout the famous alleyways that crisscross its old town.

Genoa province saw 60 new cases on Wednesday, its highest number in weeks and a sharp rise from the beginning of the month, when infections were increasing by single digits. 

Meanwhile in the city of La Spezia, about 80 kilometres south-east of Genoa, face masks were made compulsory outdoors, schools were ordered closed and public gatherings banned in certain neighbourhoods after recording as many as 90 new cases in 24 hours earlier in September.

Almost two weeks after restrictions began to be introduced, the figures have improved – new cases were at 23 on Wednesday – and the city's schools are set to reopen on Monday. 

Shoppers wear masks in Genoa's city centre. Photo: Marco Bertorello/AFP

Italian authorities are hoping that introducing timely local restrictions could be the key to avoiding another regional or even national lockdown. 

Genoa's new restrictions are targeted at neighbourhoods where tracking and tracing has revealed the highest number of new infections, according to mayor Marco Bucci.

“In the rest of the city the situation is very good… We're not planning to introduce stricter measures, which would put the city's economy in grave difficulty, ” he told the Corriere della Sera. 

In the rest of Italy, face masks are compulsory indoors during the day and outdoors between 6pm to 6am if you're in a busy area.

Italian police enforce the rules strictly and there are fines of up to €400 for non-compliance.