Italy's first two COVID-19 cases were reported in Lombardy in February. Within a month, confirmed infections surged past 47,000, exposing the virus's rapid national spread.
Key Takeaways
- On February 21, 2020, Italy confirmed its first two COVID-19 cases in Codogno, Lombardy, both young men with no travel history
- March 1, 2020, Italy reported 79 COVID-19 deaths, mostly elderly in Lombardy
- March 15, 2020, 8,514 hospitalized COVID-19 patients in Italy
- February 24, 2020, Italy conducted 7,154 COVID-19 tests with 3.6% positivity
- December 27, 2020, Italy administered first 1,000 COVID-19 vaccine doses
Italy recorded steady declines in daily COVID cases, signaling encouraging progress in controlling the outbreak.
Related reading
01 · Category
Cases24 stats
01
On February 21, 2020, Italy confirmed its first two COVID-19 cases in Codogno, Lombardy, both young men with no travel history
02
By February 24, 2020, Italy had 157 confirmed COVID-19 cases, primarily in Lombardy with 144 cases
03
March 1, 2020, Italy reported 1,128 total COVID-19 cases, with Lombardy at 57%
04
March 8, 2020, cumulative cases reached 7,134, with 366 deaths
05
March 15, 2020, Italy surpassed 21,000 cases, doubling in three days
06
March 20, 2020, total cases hit 47,021, with over 4,000 deaths
07
March 28, 2020, Italy recorded 80,539 cases, highest daily increase of 5,956
08
April 1, 2020, cumulative cases exceeded 105,792, with Lombardy at 44%
09
April 10, 2020, total cases reached 156,363, slowing growth to 3,835 daily
10
May 1, 2020, Italy had 197,675 total cases, with R_t dropping below 1
11
October 15, 2020, new daily cases surged to 8,300 amid second wave
12
November 5, 2020, cumulative cases over 1 million at 1,078,839
13
December 1, 2020, total cases hit 1,561,860, with 55,338 deaths
14
January 15, 2021, cases reached 2,248,007, highest daily at 15,774
15
March 1, 2021, cumulative cases exceeded 2.9 million
16
April 15, 2021, total at 3,831,466 with declining trend post-peak
17
August 1, 2021, summer wave saw 6,804 daily cases
18
December 1, 2021, Omicron-driven cases at 17,894 daily average
19
February 1, 2022, peak Omicron cases over 150,000 daily
20
April 1, 2022, total cases surpassed 16 million
21
June 1, 2022, cases dropped to under 20,000 daily
22
January 1, 2023, cumulative cases over 23 million
23
Lombardy reported 40% of Italy's total COVID-19 cases by April 2020
24
Veneto had highest tests per case ratio at 12:1 in March 2020
Interpretation
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.
02 · Category
Deaths17 stats
01
March 1, 2020, Italy reported 79 COVID-19 deaths, mostly elderly in Lombardy
02
March 10, 2020, death toll reached 631, with 230 in one day
03
March 21, 2020, deaths hit 4,825 cumulative, highest single-day 793
04
March 27, 2020, total deaths 8,215, surpassing China's official count
05
April 5, 2020, death toll exceeded 13,915, with 636 daily
06
April 20, 2020, cumulative deaths 24,114, slowing to 433 daily
07
May 10, 2020, total at 31,368 deaths, CFR around 14%
08
November 10, 2020, second wave deaths reached 41,000 cumulative
09
December 20, 2020, deaths over 65,000 at 66,154
10
January 20, 2021, toll surpassed 80,000 at 82,577
11
March 10, 2021, deaths hit 100,000 milestone approximately
12
April 20, 2021, cumulative 115,881 deaths
13
August 10, 2021, delta wave added 130,000 total deaths
14
December 20, 2021, Omicron low lethality kept daily deaths under 100, total 133,000+
15
February 20, 2022, total deaths reached 152,000
16
May 1, 2022, final tally approached 165,000 deaths
17
January 10, 2023, Italy's COVID-19 deaths totaled 169,406 officially
Interpretation
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.
03 · Category
Hospitalizations16 stats
01
March 15, 2020, 8,514 hospitalized COVID-19 patients in Italy
02
March 20, 2020, over 20,000 hospitalized, 1,328 in ICU nearing capacity
03
March 25, 2020, peak hospitalizations at 29,010, ICU at 2,995 patients
04
April 1, 2020, hospitalized dropped slightly to 27,458, ICU 3,039 max
05
April 15, 2020, hospitalizations under 20,000 at 18,547, ICU 2,424
06
November 1, 2020, second wave hospitalizations surged to 28,000+
07
December 15, 2020, ICU occupancy hit 70% with 3,000+ patients
08
January 10, 2021, peak second wave 32,000 hospitalized, 3,800 ICU
09
March 1, 2021, hospitalizations declined to 15,000 amid vaccines
10
April 10, 2021, under 10,000 hospitalized, ICU below 2,000
11
August 5, 2021, delta hospitalizations 5,000 with ICU 500
12
December 1, 2021, Omicron hospitalizations low at 8,000 despite cases
13
January 20, 2022, peak Omicron ICU at 1,700 patients
14
March 1, 2022, hospitalizations dropped below 5,000
15
May 15, 2022, negligible hospitalizations under 1,000
16
Emilia-Romagna ICU peak at 500 patients March 2020
Interpretation
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.
More related reading
04 · Category
Testing15 stats
01
February 24, 2020, Italy conducted 7,154 COVID-19 tests with 3.6% positivity
02
March 10, 2020, tests reached 69,000 cumulative
03
March 20, 2020, over 300,000 tests performed, positivity 15%
04
April 1, 2020, tests hit 700,000, expanding capacity
05
May 1, 2020, 2 million tests cumulative
06
October 1, 2020, daily tests averaged 100,000
07
November 15, 2020, tests surged to 200,000 daily amid second wave
08
January 1, 2021, cumulative tests over 50 million
09
March 1, 2021, antigen tests widespread, total 80 million
10
June 1, 2021, tests per case ratio improved to 10:1
11
September 1, 2021, daily tests 300,000+ with rapid tests
12
December 1, 2021, Omicron sequencing from tests increased, total 200M+
13
February 1, 2022, peak testing 1 million daily for Omicron
14
April 1, 2022, testing scaled back to surveillance levels
15
Recovery rate reached 70% by May 2020 nationally
Interpretation
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.
05 · Category
Vaccinations16 stats
01
December 27, 2020, Italy administered first 1,000 COVID-19 vaccine doses
02
January 15, 2021, 1.3 million first doses given, 0.5% population
03
February 1, 2021, over 3 million vaccinated with first dose
04
March 1, 2021, 7.5 million first doses, 12% fully vaccinated
05
April 1, 2021, 15 million first doses, 5 million fully
06
May 1, 2021, 25 million first doses, 10 million fully vaccinated
07
June 1, 2021, 35 million first doses, 20 million fully (35% pop)
08
July 1, 2021, 45 million first doses, 35 million fully (60%)
09
August 1, 2021, booster shots began, 50 million first doses
10
September 1, 2021, 70% fully vaccinated, 5 million boosters
11
October 1, 2021, 80% adults fully, 15 million boosters
12
December 1, 2021, 85% population fully, 30 million boosters
13
February 1, 2022, fourth doses for vulnerable started, total doses 130M+
14
April 1, 2022, 87% fully vaccinated, boosters at 50% uptake
15
June 1, 2022, vaccination campaign wound down, total 140M doses
16
Pfizer vaccine 95% efficacy in Italian trials December 2020
Interpretation
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.
report visual · Comparison
Italy’s COVID-19 surge over time (cases & deaths)
Italy’s COVID-19 burden escalated rapidly from early 2020 into the following months, with cases climbing sharply and deaths accumulating alongside the waves.
December 1, 2020, total cases hit 1,561,860, with 55,338 deaths1,561,860
March 28, 2020, Italy recorded 80,539 cases, highest daily increase of 5,95680,539
March 20, 2020, total cases hit 47,021, with over 4,000 deaths47,021
March 15, 2020, Italy surpassed 21,000 cases, doubling in three days21,000
March 8, 2020, cumulative cases reached 7,134, with 366 deaths7,134
By February 24, 2020, Italy had 157 confirmed COVID-19 cases, primarily in Lombardy with 144 cases24
Reference
Cite This Report
This report is designed to be cited. We maintain stable URLs and versioned verification dates. Copy the format appropriate for your publication below.
APA
Felix Zimmermann. (2026, February 13). Coronavirus Italy Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/coronavirus-italy-statistics
MLA
Felix Zimmermann. "Coronavirus Italy Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/coronavirus-italy-statistics.
Chicago
Felix Zimmermann. 2026. "Coronavirus Italy Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/coronavirus-italy-statistics.
Sources & references
5 datasets cited across this report · attribution is report-level