On the afternoon of Saturday 7 March, an HH-101A helicopter of the Italian Air Force, in readiness service since yesterday at the base of Cervia, home of the 15th Wing "SAR" (Search and Rescue, Search and Rescue), intervened, at the request of the Lombardy Regional Emergency and Urgency Agency, to transport a 62-year-old patient suffering from coronavirus, from Cremona to the Morelli Hospital in Sondalo (Sondrio).
The helicopter, with a specialized medical team on board for transport in biocontainment, took off from Cervia shortly after receiving the mission order and reached the Cremona Hospital, where it loaded the patient. The aircraft then took off again for Bormio, for the subsequent transfer to the Morelli Hospital in Sondalo.
For the coronavirus emergency, the Ministry of Defense has made HH-101A helicopters available to the institutions, operated by crews of the 9 ° Stormo di Grazzanise and the 15 ° Stormo of Cervia. These are latest generation aircraft used for many types of missions, from search and rescue to support for special operations. These helicopters are also capable of loading and transporting special insulated stretchers, ATI (Aircraft Transit Isolator), specifically designed for air transport in biocontainment of highly infectious patients.
