SARS-COV-2 PANDEMIC IN THE MEDITERRANEAN AREA: EPIDEMIOLOGY AND PERSPECTIVES

In December 2019, a disease caused by a novel Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) was identified in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China. In March 2020, the World Health Organization declared the pandemic due to SARS-CoV-2. At the end of May 2020, SARS-CoV-2 confirmed cases and deaths due to novel Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) were about 6.5 million and 380,000, worldwide. In this commentary the authors argue on the impact of SARS-CoV-2 pandemic in different epidemiological settings within the Mediterranean area, discussing any possible association with higher or lower virus spread according to climatic factors, pollutants, characteristics of general population, and organization of health care services.