Germany - Coronavirus COVID-19

[badgersmythe]

Germany to give 100,000 people coronavirus antibody tests


Germany to give 100,000 people coronavirus antibody tests | Daily Mail Online

 

[tresir2012]

Germany to give 100,000 people coronavirus antibody tests


Germany to give 100,000 people coronavirus antibody tests | Daily Mail Online

IMO Germany have been doing it all correctly. Apparently they have plenty of ventilators and Germans do what they are told, which = low death rate. So do what you are told peeps.
Stay at home. Keep your distance. Wash your hands.

 

[Baciagalupo]

Here's what you're allowed to do in each of the federal German states:

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EULzBrgXYAAXIhD.jpg

 

[Tadpole12]

Here's what you're allowed to do in each of the federal German states:

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EULzBrgXYAAXIhD.jpg

The chart restrictions reflect how the Bayern/Bavaria has been hard hit.

 

[Baciagalupo]

Corona patients in ICU in Germany (updated April 1st):

1.876 patients in intensive care, from which
1.532 are ventilated (82%)

total of completed treatments in ICU:

745, from which
245 died (33%)

Number of free beds in ICU

Low care (non-invasive ventilation) : 2.720
High care (invasive ventilation) : 5.066
ECMO : 410

total free: 8.169


source:
https://www.divi.de/empfehlungen/publikationen/divi-intensivregister-tagesreports/1541-divi-intensivregister-tagesreport-2020-04-01/file

 

[Darling136]

Here's what you're allowed to do in each of the federal German states:

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EULzBrgXYAAXIhD.jpg

What is the source of this graph? i wonder about some of those lines, so would like to understand the source

 

[PommyMommy]

Germany warns its ICU capacity may not be high enough, as mortality rate rises

Medical staff transport a patient to the emergency room at the St. Josef Hospital in Bochum, Germany, on April 1.

[...]

''I am very happy that the ventilation beds and intensive care capacities have been increased," Lothar Wieler, the head of the Robert Koch Institute, told reporters. "Still, I cannot be sure that these capacities are sufficient enough.

[...]

Wieler went on to say that he believes ''more people will die of Covid-19 than reported." Germany's mortality has rate increased to 1.2%, and Wieler warned against the assumption that the virus only affects older people -- pointing out that Germany's youngest confirmed death was a 28-year-old woman with a pre-existing condition.

Germany sent 50 ventilators to Spain to help that country battle its coronavirus outbreak, the German health minister said on Friday.

[...]

Health workers attend to a coronavirus patient in an intensive care unit at the Vall d'Hebron hospital in Barcelona, Spain, on April 1.

Spain has been battling one of the worst outbreaks of Covid-19 anywhere in the world, passing 10,000 virus-related deaths on Thursday. Only Italy has recorded more fatalities, and only Italy and the United States have had more confirmed cases, according to John Hopkins University.

[...]

Germany has implemented a "contact ban," rather than a full nationwide lockdown. It has seen more than 84,000 confirmed cases, but its reported fatalities -- just over 1,100 -- have been lower than other major European countries.

Coronavirus live updates: Cases top 1 million globally - CNN

 

[PommyMommy]

Angela Merkel returns to work after self-quarantining

German Chancellor Angela Merkel arrives for a press conference on the coronavirus in Berlin, Germany, on March 22.

[...]

Merkel went into quarantine two weeks ago after she came into contact with a doctor who later tested positive to coronavirus.

Her third test for the virus came back negative, a government spokesperson told CNN on Monday, after two previous tests that were also negative.

Meanwhile, the UK's Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to come out of self-isolation after testing positive for Covid-19 last week.

Coronavirus live updates: Cases top 1 million globally - CNN

 

[ChatteringBirds]

Germany is reporting literally thousands of fewer deaths than other countries with a similar number of cases or even many fewer cases, and I find this questionable, despite the superior hospital situation.

I'm sure there are numerous reasons why, but it is thousands fewer, and that's even compared to countries who I suspect are massively under-reporting. So... what gives?

 

[Darling136]

One of the reasons is that not all persons positively tested have harsh symptoms, the majority of infections started with an age group which can better work the virus or even asymptomatic (i do know several people with no symptoms or just like a flu). For sure with further spreading the other age group get affected too and also those with conditions too, so the number goes still up.

Another reason is that Germany is massively testing, so the number of detected infections is high, which is not the same ratio for other countries. Other countries may have the same number of positive but have not tested that much as Germany. However, also the number of recoveries is growing and this is the sake of this health system, which is in much better shape than the Spanish and Italian (they were not in good shape even before and were saving and saving).

Sorry, there are no hidden funerals going on here and this was one of the first cities with high number of infections. Btw. the numbers of infections is going down as people are trying to follow the guidelines.

 

[Baciagalupo]

It’s also possible that tuberculosis vaccine is protective. Germany stopped requiring it in 1998, much later than most countries.

Correlation between universal BCG vaccination policy and reduced morbidity and mortality for COVID-19: an epidemiological study

We compared large number of countries BCG vaccination policies with the morbidity and mortality for COVID-19. We found that countries without universal policies of BCG vaccination (Italy, Nederland, USA) have been more severely affected compared to countries with universal and long-standing BCG policies. Countries that have a late start of universal BCG policy (Iran, 1984) had high mortality, consistent with the idea that BCG protects the vaccinated elderly population. We also found that BCG vaccination also reduced the number of reported COVID-19 cases in a country. The combination of reduced morbidity and mortality makes BCG vaccination a potential new tool in the fight against COVID-19.

 

[Darling136]

Thank you, this is really an interesting possibility!

 

[ChatteringBirds]

Thank you, this is really an interesting possibility!

I definitely believe you. I just have a lot of curiousity about the reasons. It can't just be more testing or hospital beds, IMO.

If you look at the numbers for countries like France, Belgium, and the Netherlands compared to Germany's, it's amazing how relatively well Germany is doing.

Perhaps that BCG vaccination is a significant part of the reason. I wonder which other viruses it might help protect against.

 

[Darling136]

Good morning!

I think if you want to understand more, i suggest to research how other countries have been handling the situation (i do think that the vaccine is maybe a plus, not sure if this is really a driver).

Here are some hints i looked up for you, you may for sure find more online:
Netherlands had in the beginning a similar strategy as UK (herd immunity) and has even later than UK switched to other concepts. Link from German press with some translation
This is from March
Coronakrise: Der Sonderweg der Niederlande - DER SPIEGEL - Politik

Even Great Britain, whose government initially flirted with herd immunity as a strategy, now relies on curfews. The fact that in the Netherlands, despite the more than 200 corona deaths, the demarcation measures are not as drastic as elsewhere is also explained by experts in the political culture. Instead of bans, Dutch politicians, above all liberals like Rutte, have traditionally relied on the common sense and personal responsibility of citizens, says Pim van den Dool, a health policy expert at the newspaper NRC Handelsblad. These expectations were disappointed at the weekend. Many Dutch people crowded the beach, DIY stores and some weekly markets that were still open.
Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)

Netherlands Coronavirus: 19,580 Cases and 2,101 Deaths - Worldometer
I think the numbers for death cases are influenced by this first uncontrolled phase. Also i do not know more about the groups infected in the first phasees (if this was like in France from some religious events, there the group is older and may have been not so resistant).

I suggest also to look at other countries as Austria, which went very quickly in lockdown, and their death numbers are also well controlled
Austria Coronavirus: 12,675 Cases and 243 Deaths - Worldometer
or Switzerland is nearly good one...

France is making some weird things, which i do not fully get! In the beginning it was the north with the spread from some events into the public, but now it seems they have a mess in the overall counting as they now include numbers from nursing homes and there i do not really follow the details (i do not talk much to my french colleagues at the moment).

However this would be maybe rather the topic for the different country threads, feel free to launch there the question how they deal with the infection and to give more insight in their health system.

 

[Baciagalupo]

The cluster effect: how social gatherings were rocket fuel for coronavirus

“Most infections didn’t take place in supermarkets or restaurants,” Streeck said of his preliminary findings. In Heinsberg, his team of coronavirus detectives could find scant evidence of the virus being transmitted via the surfaces of door handles, smart phones or other objects.

Early theories that the virus at the carnival party in Gangelt could have been transmitted through the dishwater in the kitchen turned out to be a red herring: most guests drank their beer from bottles.

Instead, he said, transmission took place at “events where people spent a length of time in each others’ close company”, such as apres ski parties in the Austrian resort of Ischgl, the Trompete nightclub in Berlin and a football match in northern Italy.

 

[Baciagalupo]

These are the first lessons of the Heinsberg study - Bandera County Courier

The Bonn virologist Hendrik Streeck released the first interim results of the field study on Thursday “Covid – 19 Case-Cluster-Study “ in the community Gangelt in the district of Heinsberg. The district in North Rhine-Westphalia was one of the first in which the Coronavirus spread.

These are the first, but already representative interim results:

• at 15 Percent of the examined Gangelts residents were found to be infected
• The likelihood of dying from the disease lies in gear at 0, 37 percent
• For comparison: According to the Johns Hopkins University, the lethality in Germany is currently 1, 98 Percent – five times higher.

 

[imstilla.grandma]

The advice from the academics comes as the daily figure for new infections in Germany has slowed but is still in the thousands of people.

“Although the pandemic will continue to shape economic and social life for months to come, it is necessary to...develop criteria and strategies for a gradual return to normality,” the academy wrote.

Merkel, who has said the academy’s position paper will be important for her determination on the path forward, will discuss the recommendations with her cabinet on Tuesday.

On Wednesday, she will hold a video conference with the state governors to discuss a possible path out of the lockdown and how to manage the recession it is expected to cause.
Germany debates easing restrictions as new infections drop

 

[Baciagalupo]

Frankfurt police thanking everyone for social distancing and wishing them a sunny holiday, a happy Easter and good health.
hessenschau

 

[Baciagalupo]

Scary:
Coronavirus in Hamburg - Universitätsklinikum Eppendorf: Infektionswelle auf Krebs-Stationen - DER SPIEGEL - Panorama

The University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE) is currently being hit by a dramatic wave of infections. "In the field of oncology, around 20 patients and around 20 employees from different professional groups have been tested Covid-19-positive last week," admitted the press office of the hospital in response to a corresponding inquiry by the SPIEGEL.

 

[Baciagalupo]

+++GERMANY: Eases on Restrictions+++
Schooling in Germany is to resume on 4th of May, starting with the final classes, the classes that will take exams next year and the top primary school classes. The federal and state governments agreed on this on Wednesday. An agreement was also reached during the talks with regard to major events. Due to the corona pandemic, they are to be prohibited until August 31. Soccer matches are also affected. Concrete regulations, such as the size of the events, are to be made by the states. Shops with a sales area of up to 800 square meters will be open again from Modnay, 20th of April. Hairdresser salons are allowed to reopen on 4th of May. The states can approve this under conditions regarding hygiene, access control and avoidance of queues. The contact restrictions in the fight against the coronavirus, which have been in place for weeks, will be extended until 3th of May.
Corona Updates for Internationals in Germany | Fintiba