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Since December 2019, the SARS-Cov-2 epidemic, also known as Coronavirus Disease-2019, or COVID-19, has spread worldwide. The COVID-19 pandemic has increased the workload for healthcare workers hugely due to its high contagiousness. SARS-Cov-2 is airborne transmitted via droplets. This is why healthcare workers must wear appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) such as face masks, goggles, and visors, for they are designed to stop the virus from entering the upper airways, thus preventing human-to-human contagion. Almost all healthcare workers in COVID wards have suffered facial pressure injuries or other problems due to prolonged use of PPE. The aim of this article is to analyse the pathophysiological genesis of skin lesions caused by PPE in healthcare workers. The article will also present two cases of facial lesions that occurred in two medical Officers working in the COVID wards in Lombardy, and the solutions in the literature related to both primary prevention and therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

COVID-19 represents a challenge for modern Health Care Systems, due to the mismatch between the number of patients and hospitals capabilities. It is important not only to consider the total number of patients requiring ICU capabilities, but also their condition and clinical history. Our experience in Northern Italy has been that many present to the hospital after spending 10-15 days at home, with fever and cough, without any medical therapy. In lieu of the growing numbers of patients presenting to the hospitals in serious condition (after delaying care until they deteriorate), it was obvious that intensive care therapy could be the solution. An earlier intervention was needed to try and reduce the burden on the over-extended intensive care capabilities. We must not only concentrate on delivering the best medical care, but to understand the right timing. In this context we suggest to translate the military deployed medical system approach: push forward the health care in order to be earlier and more effective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]