On 6 March 2020, a big fire in a village forced the firefighters to draw water simultaneously from many sources, including the Adige river. From 9 March, an increasing number of inhabitants reported gastrointestinal symptoms. We describe the outbreak and the challenges linked to the concurrent COVID-19 spread. Residents with enteric symptoms and their relatives were interviewed and samples from some of the patients and public water pipelines were tested for enteric pathogens with

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... and molecular methods. By 20 March, 182 people reported symptoms and 131 met the case definition. Norovirus GI/GII and other pathogens were found in human and water samples. Contamination of the public water network with sewage-contaminated river water through the firefighters pressurized water tank was the suspected source of the outbreak. The investigation was partly hampered due to the SARS-CoV-2 emergency. Control measures included avoiding tap water, alternative water supplies and chlorination of public water.