Coping with the COVID-19 pandemic in Italy and Spain: Lessons in response urgency

Abstract

In Italy, on Friday, February 21, 2020, the first cases of infection were reported in the province of Lodi, 45 km from Milan. Codogno, a town of 15 000 inhabitants, placed the so-called “Patient 1” of Italy, a 38-year-old male, on the world COVID-19 map [1]. Until that moment the coronavirus was geographically distant. Within just 24 hours a “red zone” was established isolating 10 villages. A penal sanction of up to 12 years in prison was established for anyone who violated the isolation. In a little more than two weeks, the mayor of Codogno, Francesco Passarini, showed his satisfaction because there were no infections [2]. Nevertheless, on February 23, the Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte signed a ministerial decree with the “confinement” measures for the regions of Lombardy and Veneto [2]. On Saturday, March 7, [3], a ministerial decree was approved by which the whole country was in a “red zone,” an area that was quarantined and had strict social distancing rules. A rumor about the decree having been leaked 3 or 4 hours before the official announcement allowed thousands of inhabitants of the affected area in the north of the country, especially Lombardy, to hastily return to their homes in other areas of the country with the risk of spreading the epidemic.