Disability through COVID‐19 pandemic: Neurorehabilitation cannot wait

Leocani, Letizia; Diserens, Karin; Moccia, Marcello; Caltagirone, Carlo

Coronavirus disease 2019 (CoViD‐19) pandemic is strongly impacting all domains of our healthcare systems, including rehabilitation. In Italy, the first hit European country, medical activities were postponed to allow shifting of staff and facilities to intensive care, with neurorehabilitation limited to time‐dependent diseases,(1) including CoViD‐19 complications.(2,3) Hospital access to people with chronic neurodegenerative conditions such as multiple sclerosis, movement disorders or dementia, more at risks of serious consequences from the infection,(4) has been postponed. Patients also seek less for hospital care, with over 50% reduced stroke admissions as from an Italian survey,(5) possibly in fear of being infected or denied to see their families after being hospitalized. This situation can be bearable only for a short time, as any initial freezing reaction to a danger.