Demographics of the patients
In Italy, the first two cases of COVID-19 were registered at the end of January 2020. Then, since February 22, the virus started to spread quickly among the Italian population. As of November 1, 2023, Italy recorded almost 26.3 million cases of coronavirus (COVID-19), representing one of the most affected countries worldwide. Currently, the regions with the highest number of cases are Lombardy, and Veneto, located in the north of the country, followed by Campania, in the south. Demographic data on the infected patients show that COVID-19 in Italy has hit every age group uniformly. However, the mortality rate appears to be much higher for elderly patients, with people aged 90 years and older having a mortality rate of roughly 12 percent. Nationwide, the number of COVID-19 patients treated in intensive care units (ICU) or hospitalized is slowly decreasing, the mortality rate stands at 0.7 percent for the general population, and roughly 25.9 million people recovered from the virus since its outbreak.Impact on the Italian economy
The outbreak of the pandemic has caused recession and severe economic downturns in several countries. Among the consequences of the economic crisis, nations might experience an increase in unemployment rates and government debt, stock market crash, food insecurity, collapse of some industries, and other. In Italy, the gross domestic product decreased significantly. Since the outbreak of coronavirus, different estimates on the GDP growth based on various scenarios and methodologies have been released. According to the official data, published in February 2022, the Italian GDP decreased by 8.9 percent by the end of 2020. Nevertheless, the impact of coronavirus on the Italian economy might vary according to the industry. During the months of strict measures and rules, some sectors have seen their consumption volume slightly increasing, such as those of food, media, and electricity. On the other hand, many sectors experienced a massive drop in consumption, with contraction by over 80 percent. Hotels, gastronomy, leisure activities as well as transportation are among the sectors which recorded the largest losses during 2020.
