The first wave of the COVID-19 epidemic in Italy during March and April 2020 put extreme pressure on the national healthcare system, particularly on the hospitals in the most affected regions of northern Italy. Although the drastic measures taken to contain SARS-CoV-2 transmission (including a nationwide lockdown) led to a marked decrease in the number of new COVID-19 cases and deaths during the summer, the number of new cases is currently rising again at an alarming rate [1], and the coming winter raises further concerns about the additional effects the seasonal influenza epidemic will have on already stressed healthcare services.
