This page traces how COVID-19 spread across Italy and how the burden shifted over time, from the first cluster in Lombardy to wider national impact affecting healthcare capacity and vulnerable groups. It follows changes in hospitalizations, intensive care, and deaths alongside how expanding testing reshaped what “case numbers” meant. It also charts vaccination as it began in late 2020 and scaled through 2021, moving from early doses to a growing share fully protected.
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
- 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%
- 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
By late March 2020 Italy’s cases and deaths surged, especially in Lombardy, followed by vaccination rollout in 2020 to 2021.
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 the first two COVID-19 cases reported on February 21, Italy’s confirmed case count surged to 157 by February 24 and then to 47,021 by March 20, showing an explosive early growth trend under the Cases category.
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
From early March through April 20, Italy’s COVID-19 deaths rose sharply from 79 on March 1 to 24,114 by April 20, with the daily toll peaking early at 793 on March 21 and later slowing to 433 per day.
03 · Category
Hospitalizations22 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
17
29010 hospitalized COVID-19 patients at peak of first wave (Italy, 2020-03-25)
18
20000 hospitalized COVID-19 patients by mid-April (Italy, 2020-04-15)
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28000 hospitalized COVID-19 patients in second wave (Italy, 2020-11-01)
20
25000 hospitalized COVID-19 patients in second wave (Italy, 2020-11-15)
21
23000 hospitalized COVID-19 patients in second wave (Italy, 2020-12-01)
22
21000 hospitalized COVID-19 patients after second wave surge (Italy, 2020-12-15)
Interpretation
Hospitalizations Interpretation
Hospitalizations in Italy surged from 8,514 on March 15, 2020 to a peak of 29,010 by March 25, before falling to under 20,000 by April 15 at 18,547, only to rebound again in the second wave to over 28,000 by November 1, showing repeated pressure on hospitals over the course of the year.
More related reading
report visual · Comparison
Coronavirus Italy Hospitalizations: First vs. Second Wave Peaks
Hospitalizations surged again in the second wave: the highest reported level is in the second wave (leader) versus the first-wave peak, with the first wave sitting lower and then d
29010 hospitalized COVID-19 patients at peak of first wave (Italy, 2020-03-25)29010 patients
28000 hospitalized COVID-19 patients in second wave (Italy, 2020-11-01)28000 patients
25000 hospitalized COVID-19 patients in second wave (Italy, 2020-11-15)25000 patients
23000 hospitalized COVID-19 patients in second wave (Italy, 2020-12-01)23000 patients
21000 hospitalized COVID-19 patients after second wave surge (Italy, 2020-12-15)21000 patients
20000 hospitalized COVID-19 patients by mid-April (Italy, 2020-04-15)20000 patients
source-verifiedepicentro.iss.it2020
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 the testing perspective, Italy rapidly scaled COVID-19 diagnostics from 7,154 tests on February 24, 2020 to 700,000 by April 1 and 2 million cumulative by May 1, with daily testing later averaging about 100,000 by October 1.
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
By May 1, 2021 Italy had scaled vaccinations from just 1,000 first doses on December 27, 2020 to 25 million first doses and 10 million people fully vaccinated, showing a rapid rollout and accelerating completion of the series over the following months.
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
6 datasets cited across this report · attribution is report-level
+5 additional datasets cited (not shown individually)