COVID-19 in Italy
Current COVID-19 activity in Italy — based on ECDC ERVISS weekly data, set against the parallel flu and RSV trajectories.
Current situation: COVID-19
In week 15 of 2026, activity of COVID-19 in Italy is low. The trend — derived from clinical surveillance — is falling. Over a four-week comparison, a clear decline is visible.
The classification is based on the ECDC ERVISS weekly reports, drawing on COVID-19 indicators from Italy's RespiVirNet sentinel surveillance system run by the Istituto Superiore di Sanità (ISS). Seasonally, infection waves in Italy typically peak during winter, with occasional summer waves driven by new variants; activity is usually markedly lower in late spring between waves. How severe a given season becomes depends on the circulating virus variant and the population's immune status, among other factors.
Data sources and methodology
The current picture for Italy is built on the European Respiratory Virus Surveillance Summary (ERVISS), published weekly by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC). RespiVirNet (Istituto Superiore di Sanità, ISS) is the national public-health authority that feeds ERVISS with sentinel primary care and virology data.
ECDC ERVISS
ERVISS is ECDC's weekly pan-European surveillance summary for influenza, SARS-CoV-2 and RSV. National authorities — in Italy's case RespiVirNet (Istituto Superiore di Sanità, ISS) — submit harmonised indicators every week, which ECDC publishes in a standardised dataset on Thursdays. Using ERVISS rather than each country's native portal ensures cross-country comparability.
ILI / ARI consultation rates and positivity
RespiVirNet (Istituto Superiore di Sanità, ISS) operates a sentinel network of general practices that report weekly rates of patients consulting for influenza-like illness (ILI) or acute respiratory infection (ARI). A subset of patients is swabbed and tested by reference laboratories, producing pathogen-specific positivity rates for flu, SARS-CoV-2 and RSV.
Why this source
Combining consultation incidence with virological positivity yields a pathogen-specific weekly incidence signal (ILI × positivity / 100). This is the standard European methodology and provides a more robust view than either indicator alone — consultation rates capture illness burden, positivity confirms which pathogen is driving it.
Qualitative classification
The “low”, “moderate” and “high” categories follow seasonal reference values and epidemiological thresholds calibrated to match our classifications for other countries. The ILI × positivity / 100 product is scaled to comparable thresholds using a divisor of 3, which aligns European sentinel peaks with the consultation-equivalent scale used elsewhere. Data refreshes weekly when ECDC publishes the latest ERVISS update, typically on Thursdays.
Frequently asked questions
How is COVID-19 monitored in Italy today?
COVID-19 in Italy is now tracked within the RespiVirNet integrated respiratory-virus surveillance run by ISS. Indicators include sentinel primary-care consultations, hospital and ICU admissions for severe acute respiratory infection, virological positivity, and variant characterisation by reference laboratories. Weekly bulletins are published nationally, and Italian data also feeds the ECDC ERVISS dashboard.
Is COVID-19 still a serious concern in Italy?
COVID-19 is now endemic in Italy and continues to cause hospitalisations and deaths each winter, concentrated in older adults and people with weakened immune systems. For most vaccinated adults with prior infections, current variants tend to cause an illness similar to a bad cold or flu. Long COVID is followed through dedicated studies, and risk is managed via targeted booster campaigns rather than population-wide restrictions.
When do COVID-19 waves happen in Italy?
COVID-19 in Italy has not settled into a strictly seasonal rhythm. A winter wave overlapping with flu and RSV has been the most consistent pattern, but summer and spring waves have recurred whenever a new variant with an immune-escape advantage has emerged. Variant surveillance by ISS is therefore watched alongside hospitalisations for early signs of a resurgence.
Who is eligible for a COVID-19 booster in Italy?
Italy runs autumn COVID-19 booster campaigns advised by the national immunisation technical group, typically targeting adults aged 60 or 65 and over, people with comorbidities, pregnant women, residents of long-term care facilities, and healthcare and social-care workers. Eligibility is reviewed each season by the Ministero della Salute, and uptake is reported alongside flu coverage through ISS and regional authorities.
Are new variants still being tracked in Italy?
Yes. ISS coordinates routine sequencing through a national network of reference laboratories, detecting new sublineages and their relative growth. Most emerging variants cause illness broadly comparable to their predecessors, but lineages with clear immune escape can drive faster, larger waves. Variant trends are reported in RespiVirNet bulletins and shared via ECDC ERVISS.
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