Consequences of COVID-19 Outbreak in Italy: Medical Responsibilities and Governmental Measures

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has shocked the world causing more victims than the latest global epidemics such as Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (SARS-CoV) in 2003, and the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV) in 2012. Italy has been one of the most affected countries, and it had to deal with an already weak economic condition and cuts to public health services due to budgetary requirements from the last decade—something that made the situation even more dramatic. Deaths have exceeded 600.000 worldwide. During the emergency, regulatory measures were taken to counter the situation. This study highlights the main anti-COVID-19 government measures to support doctors and healthcare professionals, and it analyzes how to respond to the many requests complaining about neglectful healthcare professionals during the spread of the infection. For all those healthcare workers who died on duty, a compensation plan is assumed through a solidarity fund. The same solution cannot be granted to all patients, given the difficulty in assessing the responsibility of the doctor not only during an emergency but with insufficient instruments to cope with it as well.

Does Mental Health Affect the Decision to Vaccinate Against SARS-CoV-2? A Cross-Sectional Nationwide Study Before the Vaccine Campaign

“…During the first wave of the pandemic, as in other European countries (48), the Polish government introduced the so-called total lockdown, consisting in an order to stay at home except for the necessity to meet basic life needs and go to work if it is not possible to perform it remotely (49). During the second wave, the Polish government introduced a partial lockdown, including the closure of restaurants, shopping malls, guesthouses and hotels, and recommendations for remote work were maintained (50).…”

Perspectives on Telemedicine during the Era of COVID-19; What Can Saudi Arabia Do?

“…The University Hospital of Zurich implemented medical chatbots to offer early diagnosis, treatment, and medical information for remotely situated patients with dermatological conditions [24]. In Italy, most hospitals and clinics had to cancel their clinic appointments, reduce inpatient consultations, and postpone nonurgent surgeries due to COVID-19 restrictions [25].…”

Overview of dreadful consequences of SARS-CoV-2 invasion in Italy from March 2020 to March 2022

“…After the first COVID-19-infected case declared on February 2020, the SSN started facing an increasing pressure, with massive number of infected cases and early deaths (Gatto et al 2020 ). The deep-rooted financial predicament of public health services had gradually weakened the NHS system which almost collapsed to manage such a difficult situation (Ricci et al 2020 ). Since the severity of the disease started to elevate, it became really hard to cope with the increasing cases of hospitalisations of COVID-19 patients.…”

“…Servizio Sanitario Nazionale (SSN), Italy’s national health service, was initiated to support the people immediately who were involved in the health sectors and general citizens of the country (Ricci et al 2020 ), although there had been some financial mismanagement due to decentralisation and privatisation of health services, which had resulted in a massive negative impact on the health care services and the residents as well (Ricci et al 2020 ). Moreover, the contagion made an immense influence on the mental health of the whole Italian individuals according to their age and profession, experienced psychological distress due to the fear of getting infected, loneliness, anxiety and depression due to lockdown and uncertainty of the situation (Rossi et al 2020 ; Mansueto et al 2021 ).…”