covid19ita

To predict the spread of coronavirus disease globally and consequently prepare the hospital facilities with the required technology is a challenge. The availability of essential medical equipment to support patients affected by Covid-19 is globally limited.

The present study aims at providing a first look at the impact of the containment measures on the outbreak progression in the Veneto region, Italy. The comparison between the observed and predicted hospitalisation curves highlights a slowdown on the total COVID-19 hospitalisations after the onset of containment measures. The containment strategies seem to have positively impacted the progression of the COVID-19 epidemic outbreak in Veneto.

Regarding the COVID-19 disease, it has been hypothesized that the proportion of severe infections that need intensive care could be affected by the testing strategy. At the beginning of the epidemic outbreak (21 February), an extensive testing strategy of both symptomatic and asymptomatic subjects has been adopted in Veneto and Lombardia. However, soon after the starting of the outbreak (27 February), the Italian Ministry of Health introduced restrictions in testing asymptomatic/mild symptomatic subjects. The Lombardia region adopted the recommendation, while the Veneto region did not apply the restrictions in testing asymptomatic/mild symptomatic patients, in line with the strategy adopted by the Republic of Korea. To compare such two testing strategies, we assessed the relationship between the percentage of ICU admissions on the resident population and the percentage of asymptomatic/mild symptomatic subjects tested on the resident population, in Lombardia and Veneto. Analyses are based on official data.