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Epidemic? Fault (also) by the WHO and the Ministry of Health

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Epidemic? Fault (also) by the WHO and the Ministry of Health

The denunciation of the former medical director of the Alzano Lombardo hospital, Giuseppe Marzulli, of the errors of the Ministry of Health with the circulars in the first weeks of the pandemic. And Sileri adds: confusion from the WHO on how to deal with the virus

“In the initial phase of the epidemic, a whole series of mistakes were made that have never been mentioned. These are things that if you go deeper are also difficult to believe ". So the former director. Doctor of the Alzano Lombardo Hospital, Giuseppe Marzulli, one year after the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, speaking at Non è L'Arena, denounces what happened in the hospitals of the Lombard provinces between January and February 2020.

And what happened, explains Marzulli, is the result of the indications that came from the circulars of the Ministry of Health.

A WAR WITHOUT WEAPONS

At Alzano lombardo the first Covid-19 positive patient was identified on February 23, 2020. The emergency room was closed and then reopened. From that day on, the Lombard town began counting its victims due to a pandemic.

“We suddenly found ourselves at war, without having had any weapons, or weapons and without any preparation,” Marzulli told Non è L'Arena , a program of La7 , hosted by Massimo Giletti.

THE INITIAL ERRORS

Marzulli does not denounce, with those words, the absence of protective devices. Or at least, not just that.

“In the initial phase of the epidemic, a whole series of mistakes were made that have never been mentioned. These are things that if you go deeper are also difficult to believe. How many know the circular of January 27 from the Ministry of Health? How many know what consequences the January 27 circular has had on the conduct of Covid-19? ”, Says the former medical director of the Alzano Hospital.

“The virus – adds Marzulli – was present in Italy at least from mid-January, according to some even from November-December. The certainty is that it circulated in January. The first cases were identified the first cases on February 20 in Codogno and on February 23 in Alzano. They were spotted over a month later. Why? Why are all the doctors in Italy incapable or because there is something behind it? "

THE CIRCULAR OF JANUARY 27 OF THE MINISTRY OF HEALTH

Something behind. For Marzulli, in fact, the unpreparedness of those days stemmed from the “combination of two problems. One the circular of January 27 and the other for the fact that the pandemic plan was never applied ".

“The circular, which is called the case definition in technical terms, states the criteria by which the patient affected by Covid-19 must be identified and recognized. The circular indicated exclusively epidemiological and non-clinical criteria. The circular said that Covid should be suspected if the patient had made trips to China, if he had visited the Wuhan market and such banalities ".

THE CIRCULAR OF 22 JANUARY OF THE MINISTRY OF HEALTH

And that circular that, for Marzulli, would have wasted precious time in identifying patients affected by the disease, was going to modify a circular with the right indications in order to be able to proceed with the diagnosis.

“The Ministry of Health – explains Marzulli – on January 22 sent a circular in which he said the right things. It indicated the same criteria as in the circular dated 27 and in addition said that if doctors had found a patient whose origin of the disease could not be traced or who had presented an unusual clinical course then they could investigate with a swab ".

THE REPLICA OF PIERPAOLO SILERI

Italy's response to the pandemic was therefore confused. Confusion that Pierpaolo Sileri, former Deputy Minister of Health, confirms, unloading the blame on the WHO, in the reply to Marzulli: “There are 4 circulars in 15 days, also borrowed on the basis of the indications of the WHO . There was also confusion upstream, at the WHO level ”.

SILERI: WE WERE NOT PREPARED

But what did not work, according to Sileri, who spoke at Non è l'Arena , "was the lack of preparation: a pandemic plan certainly not declined everywhere at the peripheral level and therefore a lack of adequate training".

“I'm not just talking about stocks, but also about the habit of approaching something new. It wasn't just Italy, other EU countries also experienced the same thing. Certainly in some areas of the country there was not adequate preparation ”, adds Sileri.

This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/sanita/epidemia-colpa-anche-delloms-e-del-ministero-della-salute/ on Tue, 23 Feb 2021 05:21:19 +0000.