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“First corona cases in Bergamo as early as November”

Italian President Sergio Mattarella (R) in conversation with Mayor Camillo Bertocchi of Alzano Lombardo.

Image: AFP

The first corona cases were probably in November 2019 in Alzano Lombardo, the Italian village near Bergamo that would later become one of the most affected areas of the pandemic. The Public Prosecution Service of Bergamo discovered this in its investigation into the onset of the Covid-19 epidemic.

Between November 2019 and January 2020, doctors at the hospital in Alzano Lombardo describe at least 110 cases of unexplained double pneumonia, which also appear to be difficult to treat. At the end of 2019, there are about 40 patients with a diagnosis of ‘pneumonia of unknown cause’ in the regional hospital, but according to the doctors, it was almost certainly the first corona cases in Northern Italy. GPs in the area also report strange pneumonia and the pharmacies are running out of their supply of antibiotics.

Pneumonia

The doctors from the area report the strange wave of pneumonia, but the policies of the Lombardy region and the Ministry of Health remain the same: test only if the person in question, or a person in their immediate vicinity, has been in China. That policy will only change when the first corona infection is diagnosed on February 23, with an Italian who has never been to China.

Absenteeism

The Public Prosecutor in Bergamo questions whether the regional and national authorities have failed to stop the epidemic at an early stage. They are investigating a January 22 circular in which the Department of Health recommends that anyone who has “abnormal pneumonia” test for the Corona virus, a recommendation that will not make it to the next circular less than a week later.

According to the OM, probably one of the reasons why the virus has been able to spread under the radar in the area for a long time and ultimately caused so much damage. With more than 6,000 victims, Bergamo and the surrounding area are one of the most affected areas in all of Europe. In the province of Bergamo, which has about 1.1 million inhabitants, there is hardly any family that has not lost anyone to the corona virus.

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