Coronavirus: The civil protection system in support of the national health service
Working on the transfer of patients and the setting up of field hospitals
The national civil protection service is engaged in coordinating and implementing all activites to support the entire health system tirelessly at work 24/7 to fight the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.
To date, 55 ICU patients have been transferred from the Lombardy Region, that is 18 Coronavirus patients and 37 with other pathologies, thanks to the Remote Central Emergency Relief Operations Center activated by the Civil Protection Department.
The patients - transported on medical ambulances of the voluntary civil protection associations , and on helicopters of the 118 service and National Air Force aircraft - are currently under treatment in hospitals of the Regions of Piedmont (11), Friuli Venezia Giulia (9), Tuscany (9), Veneto (6), Abruzzo (5), Lazio (4), Umbria (4), Puglia (3), Molise (2) and Sicily (2).
In addition, the setting up of several field hospitals is under way to support hospital facilities in different cities. In Bergamo, the National Alpine Association will set up a field hospital structure, with over 300 beds, that will be made available within a few days. In Piacenza and Crema, the construction of two field hospitals is in progress thanks to the efforts of the Armed Forces. In Cremona a mobile medical facility is currently being set up by the humanitarian aid organization Samaritan’s Purse with a capacity of approximately seventy beds and 8 Intensive Care Units. The arrival in Italy of the US NGO – that will install the facility at its own expense ensuring the assistance of professional Health, Medical and Nursing staff for three months - is part of the collaboration with the World Health Organization.