### Key messages By the end of January 2021, almost 100 million people were infected with SARS-CoV-2 and over two million had died.1 Disruptions in healthcare delivery occurred in most countries as a direct consequence of the pressures posed by overwhelming numbers of COVID-19 cases, and as an indirect effect of strict infection containment measures such as social distancing and lockdowns.2 Italian regions halted cervical screening programmes in March 2020, for about 4 months, when only follow-up colposcopies were guaranteed.3 In the province of Ancona, primary conventional cervical cytology (Pap smear) screening was suspended from 9 March to 30 June 2020 as its organisation did not guarantee social distancing.4 Indeed, the programme was based on flexible-timing invitations: assuming an average 50% participation, more women than the available time slots were invited, without strict timings or having to confirm their appointment.5 This implied the possibility of overcrowding in waiting rooms. The pandemic posed a double challenge: while flexible-timing was eliminated to ensure social distancing, a greater number of tests was needed to clear the 16-week backlog. The adopted strategies differed greatly across Italian regions: several already used fixed appointments (with a precise date and time in the invitation letter, in accordance with national recommendations)6 and only had to allocate more time for each test in order to avoid overcrowding. Most of the other regions, which used flexible-timing, moved to fixed appointments, and some programmes required the women …

中文翻译：

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在 COVID-19 紧急情况下进行宫颈癌筛查

邀请的女性人数超过了可用时间段，没有严格的时间安排或必须确认她们的预约。5 这意味着候诊室可能会人满为患。大流行带来了双重挑战：虽然取消了灵活的时间以确保社交距离，但需要进行更多的测试来清除 16 周的积压。意大利各地区采用的策略大不相同：一些已经使用了固定约会（根据国家建议在邀请函中注明准确的日期和时间）6 并且只需为每次测试分配更多时间以避免过度拥挤。使用灵活时间安排的大多数其他地区转向固定约会，并且一些项目需要女性...... 5 这意味着候诊室可能会人满为患。大流行带来了双重挑战：虽然取消了灵活时间以确保社交距离，但需要进行更多的测试来清除 16 周的积压。意大利各地区采用的策略大不相同：一些已经使用了固定约会（根据国家建议在邀请函中注明准确的日期和时间）6，并且只需为每次测试分配更多时间以避免人满为患。使用灵活时间安排的大多数其他地区转向固定约会，并且一些项目需要女性...... 5 这意味着候诊室可能会人满为患。大流行带来了双重挑战：虽然取消了灵活时间以确保社交距离，但需要进行更多的测试来清除 16 周的积压。意大利各地区采用的策略大不相同：一些已经使用了固定约会（根据国家建议在邀请函中注明准确的日期和时间）6 并且只需为每次测试分配更多时间以避免过度拥挤。使用灵活时间安排的大多数其他地区转向固定约会，并且一些项目需要女性...... 需要更多的测试来清除 16 周的积压。意大利各地区采用的策略大不相同：一些已经使用了固定约会（根据国家建议在邀请函中注明准确的日期和时间）6 并且只需为每次测试分配更多时间以避免过度拥挤。使用灵活时间安排的大多数其他地区转向固定约会，并且一些项目需要女性...... 需要更多的测试来清除 16 周的积压。意大利各地区采用的策略大不相同：一些已经使用了固定约会（根据国家建议在邀请函中注明准确的日期和时间）6，并且只需为每次测试分配更多时间以避免人满为患。使用灵活时间安排的大多数其他地区转向固定约会，并且一些项目需要女性......