turning points COVID-19 in Padua, Italy: not just an economic and health issue Francesco Paolo Russo, an Associate Professor of Gastroenterology at the Department of Surgery, Oncology and Gastroenterology of the University Hospital in Padua, Italy, talks about carrying out research, teaching and clinical work in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Francesco Paolo Russo

live in Padua, a city in the Northern time ever in our university, two new Italian region of the Veneto, with associate professors were appointed and Imy family. Here, the lockdown was a new assistant professor was examined announced on 23 February 2020, over a electronically. Many conference organizers month ago. According to the Italian Civil and participants have turned to online Protection and the ‘Istituto Superior di platforms to share their work and create Sanità’, on 17 April, 172,434 people had virtual conferences to replace in-person tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 (with a meetings, with some limitations. This median age of 62 years), and 22,745 had could be the beginning of a shift toward died (median age of death, 80 years; more-accessible conferences. range, 5–100 years; interquartile range, SARS-CoV-2, an invisible microorganism, 73–85 years). Almost 17,000 healthcare has put the whole world under pressure, workers tested positive, and unfortunately with devastating human and economic COVID-19 claimed the lives of 120 doctors costs. We are realizing how fragile the and 36 nurses. As of 17 April, 236,722 swabs human condition is. This crisis has had been performed in the Veneto region, brutally increased our awareness of human which has almost 5 million inhabitants; mortality, making us realize that illness mostly subjects with symptoms or people and death could be not just ‘somebody who were close to subjects with symptoms else’s problem’. Forcibly losing freedom of have been tested, according to the model of movement in social spaces can cause us a active surveillance. sense of unease, or even pain, especially In certain areas of Italy, the main problem when the cause is so new, not well defined seemed to be the shortage of physicians and apparently never-ending. The world and nurses in both non-intensive care units after this pandemic will not be the same. and intensive care units. For this reason, Even in the most optimistic scenario, our more than 200 doctors and nurses arrived prescribed very few therapies for hepatitis C civilization, which was suddenly forced to in Italy from China, Cuba, Russia, Albania virus–infected patients, as all our outpatient stop, must start again and maybe adopt a and Poland to help the Italian health system appointments have been cancelled; we are new lifestyle. battle the new coronavirus. Moreover, visiting only patients who are referred to us Science is our weapon to win this battle; the Italian Civil Protection put out a call by general practitioners for urgent matters. as a physician-scientist I know I must never to create an emergency task force, called Furthermore, patients are afraid to go to forget that science and research cannot ‘Physicians for Civil Protection’, composed of hospital for fear of becoming infected with be limited by events. Research is the axis 300 physicians, to support the worst-affected SARS-CoV-2. The transplant world in Italy around which the future is built and must be regions. The Minister for Regional and has suffered a major slowdown, as most of considered a means not only of resistance, Autonomous Affairs launched the operation the anesthesiologists are treating COVID-19 to fight the effects of this coronavirus, but on 20 March 2020, and within 24 hours, patients and cannot therefore be involved also of resilience, to prevent future similar the Department had collected more than in organ procurement and transplantation. events. We should consider this horrendous 7,900 applications. Among these, almost It is now slowly returning to normal moment at least as an opportunity to start a 100 doctors were selected and transferred practice. Most of the clinical trials have new scientific and academic age. ❐ to the most critical areas. been interrupted. As for the ward, we are COVID-19 has profoundly changed still assisting non-COVID patients, but this Francesco Paolo Russo ✉ our daily routine. I am a gastroenterologist might change soon. So far, six medical wards Department of Surgery, Oncology and and hepatologist, and my main interests and two to three intensive care units of the Gastroenterology, Gastroenterology and Multivisceral are liver diseases and liver transplantation. University Hospital of Padua have been Transplant Unit, University Hospital, Padua, Italy. Before COVID-19, hepatitis C virus was dedicated to COVID-19 patients. ✉e-mail: [email protected] considered an internationally recognized As academics, apart from clinical health priority, but, since the beginning activities, we should also be engaged Published online: 11 May 2020 of the COVID-19 emergency, we have in teaching and research. For the first https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-020-0884-6

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