To the Editor,As of 31 March 2020, more than 100000 cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) have been confirmed in Italy.1 Progressive mitigation measures have been introduced by the Italian govement since 9 March 2020 to undermine and break the virus transmission chain.However, the COVID-19-associated hospitalisadon rate in Lombardy, the epicentre of the outbreak, has risen since the late days of February 2020, by 30％ each day, and it is only very recently that it slowed down to 5％ daily, which still translates to 500 new patients every day who are in absolute need of hospital care.