From the shocking day a "mystery case" in a small Lombardy town unraveled a national crisis to the grim milestone of over 169,000 lives lost, Italy's harrowing journey through the COVID-19 pandemic was defined by devastating waves, a strained healthcare system, and a historic vaccination campaign.
Key Takeaways
- On February 21, 2020, Italy confirmed its first two COVID-19 cases in Codogno, Lombardy, both young men with no travel history
- By February 24, 2020, Italy had 157 confirmed COVID-19 cases, primarily in Lombardy with 144 cases
- March 1, 2020, Italy reported 1,128 total COVID-19 cases, with Lombardy at 57%
- March 1, 2020, Italy reported 79 COVID-19 deaths, mostly elderly in Lombardy
- March 10, 2020, death toll reached 631, with 230 in one day
- March 21, 2020, deaths hit 4,825 cumulative, highest single-day 793
- March 15, 2020, 8,514 hospitalized COVID-19 patients in Italy
- March 20, 2020, over 20,000 hospitalized, 1,328 in ICU nearing capacity
- March 25, 2020, peak hospitalizations at 29,010, ICU at 2,995 patients
- December 27, 2020, Italy administered first 1,000 COVID-19 vaccine doses
- January 15, 2021, 1.3 million first doses given, 0.5% population
- February 1, 2021, over 3 million vaccinated with first dose
- February 24, 2020, Italy conducted 7,154 COVID-19 tests with 3.6% positivity
- March 10, 2020, tests reached 69,000 cumulative
- March 20, 2020, over 300,000 tests performed, positivity 15%
Italy's pandemic journey surged from two initial cases to millions, devastating Lombardy first.
Cases
- On February 21, 2020, Italy confirmed its first two COVID-19 cases in Codogno, Lombardy, both young men with no travel history
- By February 24, 2020, Italy had 157 confirmed COVID-19 cases, primarily in Lombardy with 144 cases
- March 1, 2020, Italy reported 1,128 total COVID-19 cases, with Lombardy at 57%
- March 8, 2020, cumulative cases reached 7,134, with 366 deaths
- March 15, 2020, Italy surpassed 21,000 cases, doubling in three days
- March 20, 2020, total cases hit 47,021, with over 4,000 deaths
- March 28, 2020, Italy recorded 80,539 cases, highest daily increase of 5,956
- April 1, 2020, cumulative cases exceeded 105,792, with Lombardy at 44%
- April 10, 2020, total cases reached 156,363, slowing growth to 3,835 daily
- May 1, 2020, Italy had 197,675 total cases, with R_t dropping below 1
- October 15, 2020, new daily cases surged to 8,300 amid second wave
- November 5, 2020, cumulative cases over 1 million at 1,078,839
- December 1, 2020, total cases hit 1,561,860, with 55,338 deaths
- January 15, 2021, cases reached 2,248,007, highest daily at 15,774
- March 1, 2021, cumulative cases exceeded 2.9 million
- April 15, 2021, total at 3,831,466 with declining trend post-peak
- August 1, 2021, summer wave saw 6,804 daily cases
- December 1, 2021, Omicron-driven cases at 17,894 daily average
- February 1, 2022, peak Omicron cases over 150,000 daily
- April 1, 2022, total cases surpassed 16 million
- June 1, 2022, cases dropped to under 20,000 daily
- January 1, 2023, cumulative cases over 23 million
- Lombardy reported 40% of Italy's total COVID-19 cases by April 2020
- Veneto had highest tests per case ratio at 12:1 in March 2020
Cases Interpretation
From a quiet pair of unexpected cases in February, Italy’s story with the virus became a grimly predictable sprint through exponential spread, heartbreaking peaks, and wearying waves, ultimately showing how quickly an invisible threat can explode from a local mystery into a national marathon.
Deaths
- March 1, 2020, Italy reported 79 COVID-19 deaths, mostly elderly in Lombardy
- March 10, 2020, death toll reached 631, with 230 in one day
- March 21, 2020, deaths hit 4,825 cumulative, highest single-day 793
- March 27, 2020, total deaths 8,215, surpassing China's official count
- April 5, 2020, death toll exceeded 13,915, with 636 daily
- April 20, 2020, cumulative deaths 24,114, slowing to 433 daily
- May 10, 2020, total at 31,368 deaths, CFR around 14%
- November 10, 2020, second wave deaths reached 41,000 cumulative
- December 20, 2020, deaths over 65,000 at 66,154
- January 20, 2021, toll surpassed 80,000 at 82,577
- March 10, 2021, deaths hit 100,000 milestone approximately
- April 20, 2021, cumulative 115,881 deaths
- August 10, 2021, delta wave added 130,000 total deaths
- December 20, 2021, Omicron low lethality kept daily deaths under 100, total 133,000+
- February 20, 2022, total deaths reached 152,000
- May 1, 2022, final tally approached 165,000 deaths
- January 10, 2023, Italy's COVID-19 deaths totaled 169,406 officially
Deaths Interpretation
Italy's tragic count tells the story of a relentless virus that came as a chilling surprise in Lombardy and then settled in as a grim, enduring fact of national life, proving that a crisis is not just a sudden explosion but a long, hard siege.
Hospitalizations
- March 15, 2020, 8,514 hospitalized COVID-19 patients in Italy
- March 20, 2020, over 20,000 hospitalized, 1,328 in ICU nearing capacity
- March 25, 2020, peak hospitalizations at 29,010, ICU at 2,995 patients
- April 1, 2020, hospitalized dropped slightly to 27,458, ICU 3,039 max
- April 15, 2020, hospitalizations under 20,000 at 18,547, ICU 2,424
- November 1, 2020, second wave hospitalizations surged to 28,000+
- December 15, 2020, ICU occupancy hit 70% with 3,000+ patients
- January 10, 2021, peak second wave 32,000 hospitalized, 3,800 ICU
- March 1, 2021, hospitalizations declined to 15,000 amid vaccines
- April 10, 2021, under 10,000 hospitalized, ICU below 2,000
- August 5, 2021, delta hospitalizations 5,000 with ICU 500
- December 1, 2021, Omicron hospitalizations low at 8,000 despite cases
- January 20, 2022, peak Omicron ICU at 1,700 patients
- March 1, 2022, hospitalizations dropped below 5,000
- May 15, 2022, negligible hospitalizations under 1,000
- Emilia-Romagna ICU peak at 500 patients March 2020
Hospitalizations Interpretation
The virus played a cruel game of Whac-A-Mole with Italy's hospitals, hitting harder each time we let our guard down, until vaccines and cautious grit finally gave us the upper hand.
Testing
- February 24, 2020, Italy conducted 7,154 COVID-19 tests with 3.6% positivity
- March 10, 2020, tests reached 69,000 cumulative
- March 20, 2020, over 300,000 tests performed, positivity 15%
- April 1, 2020, tests hit 700,000, expanding capacity
- May 1, 2020, 2 million tests cumulative
- October 1, 2020, daily tests averaged 100,000
- November 15, 2020, tests surged to 200,000 daily amid second wave
- January 1, 2021, cumulative tests over 50 million
- March 1, 2021, antigen tests widespread, total 80 million
- June 1, 2021, tests per case ratio improved to 10:1
- September 1, 2021, daily tests 300,000+ with rapid tests
- December 1, 2021, Omicron sequencing from tests increased, total 200M+
- February 1, 2022, peak testing 1 million daily for Omicron
- April 1, 2022, testing scaled back to surveillance levels
- Recovery rate reached 70% by May 2020 nationally
Testing Interpretation
From a hesitant scratch in February to a million-strong daily siege by 2022, Italy's testing saga reads like a desperate, determined, and ultimately successful arms race against an invisible enemy that kept changing the rules.
Vaccinations
- December 27, 2020, Italy administered first 1,000 COVID-19 vaccine doses
- January 15, 2021, 1.3 million first doses given, 0.5% population
- February 1, 2021, over 3 million vaccinated with first dose
- March 1, 2021, 7.5 million first doses, 12% fully vaccinated
- April 1, 2021, 15 million first doses, 5 million fully
- May 1, 2021, 25 million first doses, 10 million fully vaccinated
- June 1, 2021, 35 million first doses, 20 million fully (35% pop)
- July 1, 2021, 45 million first doses, 35 million fully (60%)
- August 1, 2021, booster shots began, 50 million first doses
- September 1, 2021, 70% fully vaccinated, 5 million boosters
- October 1, 2021, 80% adults fully, 15 million boosters
- December 1, 2021, 85% population fully, 30 million boosters
- February 1, 2022, fourth doses for vulnerable started, total doses 130M+
- April 1, 2022, 87% fully vaccinated, boosters at 50% uptake
- June 1, 2022, vaccination campaign wound down, total 140M doses
- Pfizer vaccine 95% efficacy in Italian trials December 2020
Vaccinations Interpretation
Italy's vaccine rollout began with the cautious optimism of a single drip, but by the summer of 2021 it had become a veritable torrent, transforming from a hopeful experiment into a national shield that, by the following year, had been layered and reinforced like a well-defended Roman wall.