Table 1.

Timeline of the key stages of COVID-19 diffusion in Italy.

31st December 2019	The Municipal Health Services in Wuhan (China) report to the WHO a cluster of patients with pneumonia of unknown etiologic agent in the city of Wuhan, in the Chinese province of Hubei.
9th January 2020	Chinese authorities make a preliminary determination of a novel (or new) coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2), as the causal agent of the severe acute respiratory syndrome, named COVID-19. Chinese investigators conduct gene sequencing of the virus, using an isolate from one positive patient sample, making diagnostic tests promptly available worldwide.
22nd January 2020	The Italian Ministry of Health sets up a task force to coordinate interventions on the Italian territory, together with international responsible institutions. A surveillance system for suspected cases is established.
30th January 2020	Two Chinese tourists hospitalised for respiratory tract infection, in Rome, are the first confirmed cases of COVID-19 detected in Italy. Regional Health Authorities implement measures to track contacts of the two subjects. All contacts resulted negative for COVID-19. Italian government decides to interrupt all air connections with China. The WHO declares COVID-19 diffusion in China a public health emergency.
31st January 2020	The Italian Council of Ministers declares national public health emergency condition.
21st February 2020	The Italian National Institute of Health confirms the first case of local transmission of COVID-19 infection in a 38-year-old patient in Codogno.
28th February 2020	The WHO raises the threat definition for COVID-19 epidemic at a ‘high level’ of threatening for the global health.
8th-9th March 2020	A national decree institutes a containment zone concerning the most affected areas of the country, located in the north of Italy (Lombardia, Emilia Romagna and Veneto). The main provisions include forbidding all gatherings of people; restricting movements of people within and outside the hometown, except for circumstances of necessity; encouraging employees to work from home. Health workers cannot take any leave and are asked to suspend all non-urgent activities; all planned surgeries are postponed, to give over intensive care beds to the treatment of patients with COVID-19.
10th March 2020	The Italian Ministry of Health issues recommendations for oncologic and onco-haematologic patients, providing protective measures for off-therapy patients and those receiving systemic treatment. Oncologists are required to postpone follow up visits, in order to reduce patients' access to hospitals. Patients with thoracic tumours and those who underwent pulmonary resection are to be considered a subgroup of high-risk patients.
11th March 2020	The Italian Council of Ministers urgently sets increasingly strict containment measures to the whole national territory. The WHO declares the novel SARS-CoV-2 outbreak a pandemic.
13th March 2020	Three Italian scientific associations (AIOM, CIPOMO and COMU) release an official document for the management of oncologic and onco-haematologic activities during COVID-19 pandemic. The WHO declares Europe is becoming the new epicentre of COVID-19 pandemic.

AIOM, Associazione Italiana di Oncologia Medica; CIPOMO, Collegio Italiano dei Primari Oncologi Medici Ospedalieri; COMU, Collegio degli Oncologi Medici Universitari; COVID-19, novel coronavirus disease; SARS-CoV-2, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2; WHO, World Health Organisation.