The Lombard health care system is battling collapse amid increasing numbers of coronavirus infections. “We are forced to place beds even in the aisles of the hospitals. We have remodeled parts of the hospitals to make room for patients in the intensive care units,” said Antonio Pesenti, head of the Lombard crisis unit for intensive care therapy.
“If the population does not understand that you have to stay at home to avoid infection, the situation will be catastrophic. The situation is so acute that the number of places in the intensive care units of hospitals would have to be increased tenfold,” says Pesenti in an interview with the Milan daily newspaper Corriere della Sera (Sunday edition).
Health authorities expect that by March 26, 18,000 people in Lombardy will have the coronavirus. Up to 3,200 of these could need treatment in the intensive care unit. That is three times more than currently. The Lombard health care system, which is among the most advanced in the world, is no longer able to guarantee its quality standards.
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