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May 31, 2020 The new coronavirus "clinically no longer exists" and "terrorizing the country is something for which someone must take responsibility". To claim that Covid-19 has changed its face, losing much of its virulence, is Alberto Zangrillo, director of intensive care at San Raffaele in Milan. Words that the President of the Superior Health Council and member of the technical-scientific committee (CTS) Franco Locatelli welcomes with "absolute bewilderment" and "great surprise". And also for the Undersecretary for Health Sandra Zampa is "a wrong message that risks confusing Italians". 

Zangrillo's statements sparked the debate, according to which "clinically the new coronavirus no longer exists. About a month ago - he claimed - we felt epidemiologists fearing a new wave for the end of the month or the beginning of June and who knows how many intensive care places to fill In reality the virus from the clinical point of view no longer exists ".

Locatelli's reply was clear: "I can only express great surprise and absolute bewilderment at the declarations made by Professor Zangrillo. Just look at the number of new cases confirmed every day to have evidence of the persistent circulation of the virus in Italy". Hence the need to "continue on the path of responsibility for individual behavior, not to be discouraged through dangerous declarations that forget the drama experienced in this country". 

"Granted and not granted that similar claims are supported by scientific information, and at the moment there is no evidence, such superficial and misleading words are decidedly dangerous in such a critical moment of transition from a lockdown phase that has concerned not only the Italy but the whole world ". Thus the coordinator of the government's scientific technical committee, Agostino Miozzo, replies to the statements of Alberto Zangrillo.

But the director of the infectious diseases clinic of the San Martino hospital in Genoa Matteo Bassetti also claims that the virus is no longer the same, starting from his experience in the field. The virus "could now be different: the firepower that he had two months ago is not the same firepower he has today. As a doctor who is on the field - he says - I say that the sick of now are different from those of two months ago: before patients had a much more serious condition, now fewer. It is clear that Covid-19 disease is different today, because its clinical presentation and its course are milder ".

However, the pulmonologist and CTS member Luca Richeldi also calls for caution and warns against the risk of underestimating the dangers. The virus "still circulates and it is wrong to give misleading messages that do not invite caution. It is undoubtedly true and reassuring that the pressure on hospitals has drastically reduced in recent weeks. However, it should not be forgotten - he points out - that this is the result of the equally drastic measures to contain the viral circulation adopted in our country ".

And again: "It is good to remember that viral circulation is a dynamic process, so the gradualness and caution in the resumption of economic and social activities must remain our priority. Especially in light of the reopening of June 3rd". Moreover, "it is enough to see how unfortunately the situation is very different in countries, such as Russia, Mexico or India, where these measures have not been so effective and have not given the comforting results that we see in our country".

It is too early to draw conclusions also according to the scientific director of the Spallanzani Institute in Rome Giuseppe Ippolito. Fortunately in Italy "we now have fewer serious cases and this shows that the containment measures adopted have paid off, but at the moment there is no evidence nor any published scientific study that the virus has mutated". Usually, he warns, "viruses will subside over the course of several years, but you don't have to be catastrophic or optimistic at all costs." Now, "what we have to do - he concludes - is to monitor the situation day by day and never abandon prudence".

"I am asked not to mislead the Italians? I agree, our duty is just not to mislead them, that's why I said, and I confirm, that the virus no longer exists clinically. The Italians deserve to know the truth, namely that clinical evidence tells us this. " This is Zangrillo's reply, after the controversies raised by his words on the virus to which representatives of the Technical-Scientific Committee have replied. "The virus still lodges among us - adds Zangrillo - like dozens of other viruses, but what we see is what I said. It is advisable to continue temporarily to observe the prudential rules, but Italians have the right to know the clinical evidence current on the virus. "