What Other Countries Can Learn From Italy During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Italy is a decentralized country; thus, preparedness and containment may have been hampered. There was a delay from the first case detection (February 21, 2020) to the first containment decree from the government that closed the relevant villages 3 days later. The lessons relevant to other countries are the need to avoid bringing patients with suspected SARS-CoV-2 infection to the hospital, except when they clearly require hospital care; maintain strict hygienic procedures in the hospital environment; and act swiftly in case of exposures of medical personnel to avoid loss of personnel capacity.