A first point of discussion is that in other countries, including South Korea, a wider sample of the population was tested, whereas in Italy and especially in the north, diagnostic tests were mainly reserved for symptomatic cases seen in the emergency department or symptomatic cases at home with recent contact with a confirmed case. Therefore, the actual number of positive patients could be even 10-fold higher than the estimated number, thus considerably reducing the percentage of fatal cases. However, this assumption cannot be confirmed until extended population testing is done.