Table A8.

Definition of the cases, testing and tracing strategy.

	Act	Criteria	Sources
How cases are recorded	Ministry of Health Act- Circolare del Ministero della salute 9 marzo 2020	Cases are classified as: Probable: 1.SARS-CoV-2 is not clear or inconclusive 2.Pan-coronavirus test is positive Confirmed: 1.SARS-CoV-2 is confirmed, regardless clinical sign and symptoms	http://www.salute.gov.it/portale/nuovocoronavirus/dettaglioContenutiNuovoCoronavirus.jsp?lingua=italiano&id=5373&area=nuovoCoronavirus&menu=vuoto#2 http://www.trovanorme.salute.gov.it/norme/renderNormsanPdf?anno=2020&codLeg=73669&parte=1%20&serie=null
Testing criteria	Ministry of Health Act- Circolare del Ministero della salute 9 marzo 2020	Diagnostic test should be performed if the patient presents the following symptoms 1.Respiratory infection AND temperature, caught, respiratory difficulties  AND with no underling conditions related to the symptoms OR 2.Acute respiratory infection AND that was in contact with a positive case in the previous 14 days OR 3.Serious acute respiratory infection AND temperature, caught, respiratory difficulties AND that requires hospitalisation AND with no underling conditions related to the symptoms	http://www.salute.gov.it/portale/nuovocoronavirus/dettaglioContenutiNuovoCoronavirus.jsp?lingua=italiano&id=5373&area=nuovoCoronavirus&menu=vuoto#2 http://www.trovanorme.salute.gov.it/norme/renderNormsanPdf?anno=2020&codLeg=73669&parte=1%20&serie=null
	Minsitry of Health Act- Circolare del Ministero della salute del 3 aprile 2020	Diagnostic tests and criteria to be listed in the definition of priorities: 1.hospitalised patients with severe acute respiratory infection (SARI) 2.all cases of acute respiratory infection hospitalised or admitted to nursing homes and other long-term care facilities 3.health workers exposed to greater risk 4.people at risk of developing a severe and fragile form of the disease, such as older people with comorbidities 5.first symptomatic individuals within closed communities Serology testing: desirable strategy due to emergency, less reliable than RT-PCR	http://www.salute.gov.it/portale/nuovocoronavirus/dettaglioContenutiNuovoCoronavirus.jsp?lingua=italiano&id=5373&area=nuovoCoronavirus&menu=vuoto#2 http://www.trovanorme.salute.gov.it/norme/renderNormsanPdf?anno=2020&codLeg=73799&parte=1%20&serie=null
Contact tracing	Ministry of Health Act- Circolare del Ministero della salute del 20 marzo 2020	Contact tracing for: 1.People that were in contact with the positive case 2 days before the symptoms appeared 2.People that were in contact with the positive case 14 days after the symptoms appeared	http://www.salute.gov.it/portale/nuovocoronavirus/dettaglioContenutiNuovoCoronavirus.jsp?lingua=italiano&id=5373&area=nuovoCoronavirus&menu=vuoto#2 http://www.trovanorme.salute.gov.it/norme/renderNormsanPdf?anno=2020&codLeg=73714&parte=1%20&serie=null
How deaths are recorded	Ministry of Health Act COVID-19: indicazioni per la compilazione della scheda di morte	Deceased can be classified as: 1.Probable: if the diagnosis is uncertain 2. Death cause: all conditions that determine the death reported as 1. Initial cause 2. Conditions and complications due to the initial cause 3. If causes are dependant amongst each other, only the major one has to be reported 4. Conditions not directly related to the deaths but that worsen the condition 3.All the COVID-19, either confirmed by a test or suspected, has to be reported	http://www.salute.gov.it/portale/nuovocoronavirus/dettaglioContenutiNuovoCoronavirus.jsp?lingua=italiano&id=5373&area=nuovoCoronavirus&menu=vuoto#2 http://www.salute.gov.it/imgs/C_17_pagineAree_5373_11_file.pdf
How recovered are recorded	Ministry of Health- Technical Scientific Committee – 19th of March	Recovered are classified as: Clinically recovered: 1.patients that was affected by temperature, caught, throat hake, mild or severe respiratory disease associated to Sars-CoV-2. Patients become asymptomatic due to symptoms resolution 2.Patient could still be positive to SARS-CoV-2 test Recovered: 3.Patients become asymptomatic due to symptoms resolution 4.Patient is negative to SARS-CoV-2 test Clearance 1.RNA and SARS-CoV-2 absence in body fluids for patient that presented symptoms and for those who did not present any symptoms 2.For asymptomatic patients that resulted positive, the test should not be repeated before 14 days after the first positive diagnosis 3.Two molecular tests need to be performed in 24 h. Both of them have to be negative	http://www.salute.gov.it/portale/nuovocoronavirus/dettaglioNotizieNuovoCoronavirus.jsp?lingua=italiano&menu=notizie&p=dalministero&id=4274