Covid-19: preparedness, decentralisation, and the hunt for patient zero
Fabrizio Carinci
Abstract
The outbreak of covid-19 in Italy officially started on 31 January 2020, after two Chinese visitors staying at a central hotel in Rome tested positive for the new coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. They had landed at Milan Malpensa airport on a flight from Wuhan on 23 January. After tracing his movements and contacts, the regional authorities found a cluster of other cases, but none of them was identified as the origin of the infection ("patient 0"). Cases were found in several bordering regions and autonomous provinces of northern Italy.
Topics & Concepts
OutbreakCoronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)PreparednessContact tracingSevere acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)MedicineNorthern italyCluster (spacecraft)2019-20 coronavirus outbreakGeographyDemographyDecentralizationSocioeconomicsMedical emergencyFamily medicineVirologyPolitical scienceDiseaseBusinessInfectious disease (medical specialty)SociologyPathologyEuropean unionProgramming languageEconomic policyLawComputer scienceCOVID-19 and healthcare impactsCOVID-19 epidemiological studiesCOVID-19 Clinical Research Studies