The graph relates the percentage of exams and outpatient visits postponed in the period between 1 March and 30 April 2020, surveyed by Pazienti dimenticati, and the incidence of infections per 100 thousand inhabitants, calculated on the total number of cases recorded in the period considered. starting from Protezione civile’s data. In general, the lower a point is, the higher the percentage of postponed operations, the further to the right, the higher the incidence of infections. The points in pink are those for which the percentage is calculated on the actual postponements, those in gray are those for which the calculation was made on the basis of the interventions carried out in the same period of 2019. It is worth adding that, where the data allowed to identify them, the choice was to exclude laboratory analyzes from the list. This is because they have not been suspended.

For exams and visits as well, data show no correlation between the percentage of deferred services and the spread of the Sars-CoV-2 pandemic on the national territory. The reason, as already mentioned, is that the stop to performance arises from a central decision, homogeneous for the entire national territory, while the virus has spread more in the northern regions.