“I wouldn’t even wish this media pillorying on Ranucci.” Says Rigoli, the doctor who has been cleared of all charges

Venice. From a symbol of the emergency to the centre of a scandal. “Right from the start of the pandemic, I was coordinating microbiology efforts in Veneto, managing the samples arriving from abroad and distributing them fairly amongst the various local health authorities,” Roberto Rigoli, the doctor who stood alongside Zaia during the famous midday press conferences, tells Il Foglio. “He had asked for me to be there: there were so many questions, and it was easier for someone like me, who worked in the laboratory, to answer them.” And then? “Tensions flared between Zaia and Crisanti, who began criticising every decision made by the regional authorities to combat the spread of the virus. In particular, regarding rapid tests, with Crisanti himself even lodging a complaint with the public prosecutor’s office. From then on, it was an ordeal.” Rigoli ended up on trial for obstruction of justice and making false statements – in the early stages of the investigation, there was even talk of corruption. The media witch-hunt began. The smear campaign by Report, which turned a renowned head of department into a charlatan peddling cheap swabs. The outcome: acquitted of all charges, as the case was unfounded. “I had serious doubts about the Italian justice system. But I had to change my mind because there was a judge with the courage to tell it like it was.”

A brief overview of the situation. “We were between the first and second waves,” explains Rigoli. “At the time, the only diagnostic method was the molecular swab test: very reliable, but costly. It required trained staff and specialised equipment. Veneto was one of the regions carrying out the most tests relative to its population.” The Zaia model, in fact. “Then two things happened. Firstly: we could no longer keep up with processing the swabs. In the laboratory, staff were working for up to 12–14 hours on the go; the pressure was unbearable. Secondly: as the pandemic spread to the rest of the world, there was the issue of supply. Kits for carrying out molecular tests began to run short, with priority given to the manufacturers’ home countries. Italy was in danger of running out.” This is where Rigoli’s insight came in. “I’d heard about rapid tests from China and set to work on this. Not to reduce the use of PCR tests – mind you – but to provide you with extra support. The alternative would have been to wait up to ten days for results: useless for the purposes of containing the spread.” As the saying goes, better something than nothing. “The antigen test is less sensitive but provides a good overview. We procured them regularly through tenders, always CE-IVD marked – in compliance with European regulations. That’s when the accusations came. Political pressure, but also economic pressure: some private organisations profited handsomely from the sky-high prices of molecular tests.”

It wasn’t just the Rigoli case; there has been a wider climate of witch-hunting that continues to this day. Take the Covid commission, for example. There are a thousand ways to challenge Giuseppe Conte on valid grounds: Putinism, populism, indifference. Attacking him over his handling of the pandemic is perhaps the most petty. “The discussion following such a tragedy should be conducted with a view to avoiding the mistakes we have all inevitably made, because we are human,” the doctor emphasises. “If the inquiry turns into a political war to the bitter end, then that is not right. I harbour no anger over this whole affair. Sadness, if anything. My hope is to see everyone working together again, preparing to tackle the viruses of the future.” Has Crisanti ever apologised to you? “Both before and after the verdict, I had the support of almost the entire scientific community. Crisanti, no – I haven’t heard from him since. Then again, he’s pursued a political career.” It’s like with magistrates who become MPs: it does raise some doubts. “It’s not him who should apologise to me, but Ranucci. He made misleading and defamatory claims: linking the use of rapid tests to the deaths in Veneto is a low blow that only Report could have come up with. Even Crisanti has revised his position on the matter, rewriting his paper in Nature.”

The acquittal is a relief, but the burden of the public shaming remains. “I spent years of my life facing a trial that should never even have begun: my father, a doctor himself, died before the verdict was handed down. That is what pains me the most. I wouldn’t wish the suffering my family endured on anyone. Not even on Ranucci, who today finds himself at the centre of a murky affair.” Things change quickly. “Until the other day, he was untouchable: when I filed a complaint against him for aggravated defamation, I felt like David against Goliath. A doctor from Treviso versus a television powerhouse, at whose very mention magistrates stand to attention. We’ll see, there too, whether the truth comes to light.”