Effectiveness of three-month social distancing measuresto control the COVID-19 infection in Italy

Background and Aim of the study: After the outbreak in China,Italy was the first country facing COVID-19 pandemic The earliestidentified cases in Lombardy at mid-February, 2020 have promptlygiven the idea of a dramatic infection During the first decade ofMarch the Italian Government introduced drastic measures of social isolation to contain the spread of contagion, to prevent thecollapse of healthcare system, and to reduce deaths We evaluatedthe geographic differences in COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations,and deaths as well as compared to the initial stage of diffusionacross Italian regions Materials and Methods: We assessed data daily released by Italian Civil Protection Department since February to May, 2020 Wecompared six geographic repartitions of similar population sizeafter the first 1000 cases in each macro-area Results: Out 227364 patients infected by COVID-19, 32330(14 2%) dead Time to double infections was initially very short The northern regions nearest to the epicenter showed the majorpercentage of cases, hospitalizations and fatal events Conclusions: The COVID 19 infection represents an unexpectedhealth-care challenge Although the spatial heterogeneity ofCOVID-19 diffusion through Italy, prompt containment measureshave produced positive results, in particular for southern regions This aspect is due to holographic isolation, delay in spreading thevirus and social restrictions The adopted strategies by the ItalianGovernment have been relevant to control the unpredictable andpotential fatal evolution of infection in our regions