Italy was the first to be hit in Europe and has over 35,000 dead. While some other European countries have now closed down parts again and are seeing a negative development, the situation in Italy around the dead and sick in covid-19 is very good.

Professor Alberto Zangrillo in the intensive care unit at San Raffaele, one of Milan's largest hospitals, was in the middle of an inferno during the spring. When we meet before his morning session, he tells us that not a single corona patient has come from the emergency room to the intensive care unit since 18 April. The situation is the same in hospitals throughout Italy.

Zangrillo says it is like "a completely different disease" compared to last winter and spring.

Says that time will give answers

We take the car towards Bergamo, drive in a heavy thunderstorm along the highway. The city counts the most corona deaths in Italy and grief is found in every corner - but there is still optimism here. At the Mario Negri Research Institute, Professor Giuseppe Remuzzi receives us, one of Italy's most respected experts. He expresses himself more cautiously than Zangrillo, but just as clearly, when he states that the situation in Italy is "extremely good". Remuzzi says that almost no one dies in covid-19 in Italy right now and that there are so few patients that the institute cannot do research on the virus properly.

What the rapid turnaround is due to, he does not want to speculate on, he just says that time will provide answers to all questions about the virus.

Want to avoid unnecessary fear

In Italy, too, the number of infections has increased again in recent days. But both professors emphasize that it is extremely important to differentiate between the number of infected and those who actually become ill. They want to see more facts when news about the number of infected is presented, to avoid unnecessary fear that paralyzes society.

Of those who today are tested positive for covid-19 in Italy, many have such a small proportion of virus particles in them that they do not get sick and thus probably not contagious, according to the professors.

The few major hotspots the country has today are mainly cluster infections, several of them with poor, hard-hit guest workers and migrants, something that has caused political debate and also unrest, including at Lampedusa.

At the same time, Italian stalls and outdoor cafes are full of people who want to enjoy the summer and not think about the autumn. Researchers in different camps disagree about the risk of a second wave. What most people agree on right now is that the situation is very favorable right now, much better than anyone dared to believe and hope this spring.