WHO pulled report on Italy’s ‘chaotic’ first response to Covid-19

Italy’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic was “improvised” and “chaotic” according to a World Health Organisation report that was taken down from the body’s website just hours after publication in May. The assessment titled “An unprecedented challenge, Italy’s first response to Covid-19” was completed by a group of pan-European WHO scientists led by Venice-based Francesco Zambon. It was published on the WHO’s website on May 13, including an introduction written by Europe’s WHO director, Hans Kluge, but was removed the next day. The WHO issued no public statement at the time to indicate that it had withdrawn the report or explain why. According to the 102-page document, seen by the Financial Times, Italy’s decentralised approach to public health policy, as well as delays in testing and tracing potential Covid-19 infections, contributed to worsening the outcome of the first phase of the pandemic.