CORONICLES: Is it calm before the actual storm in Germany?
What the media and public are irked about is that Germany was not so well prepared for a pandemic as it could be, despite being warned of an impending pandemic way back in 2013.
The first time I took real notice of reports on coronavirus was at the end of January. When the first confirmed case of a SARS-CoV-2 infection was reported from Bavaria in Germany, I was in a clinic in Thuringia. Other patients in the clinic spoke about how media has found a new topic to cannibalise. I was also wondering what the big deal was. News and pictures from shut-down cities in China didn’t interest me much — the problem seemed very far away. Two months later, I am sitting in “social isolation” in my apartment in Berlin.
Germany’s capital with almost four million inhabitants has come to a halt. Nevertheless, the lockdown is not as strict as in India — people here are still allowed to go out for walks if they are not more than two except for family members. Police are patrolling through the streets to check whether the distance rules of at least 1.5 metres is being followed. If not, they politely ask people to follow the order. Schools, universities, bars, theatres, cafés, restaurants, gyms and all other public institutions are shut all over Germany, though supermarkets and pharmacies remain open. The stricter measures against the pandemic were mainly implemented during the last two weeks.
I must admit I didn’t understand the seriousness of the situation until recently. Like many others, I thought that the measures taken are exaggerated. Especially when ITB Berlin, one of the world’s leading tourism trade fairs, was called off on short notice at the beginning of March. I was so looking forward to seeing my friends from the Indian tourism industry here. When politicians and Messe Berlin discussed whether the event should be cancelled, I never thought that they could do that just three days before the event started. 10,000 exhibitors from all over the world were expected. They had booked flights, hotels and prepared for the fair so long. Most of them lost a lot of money.
Who would have thought that instead of fairs, a corona-hospital for 1,000 patients would be built on the grounds of Messe Berlin a few weeks later! Neither would I have imagined at the end of January, when I saw the first report on coronavirus, that the clinic in Thuringia would be closed because of the pandemic and a part of the staff will be under quarantine.
Since most people like me have no medical background, it takes some time to understand why “freedom” needs to be restricted so suddenly and this strictly. Especially for the young people who didn’t get it. The “corona parties” were being held while doctors and nurses were already battling for the lives of people under dramatic circumstances in Italy, France and Spain. People here in Berlin went on a panic-buying mode — there is no stock of toilet paper and pasta in most of the shops these days.
Even though the virus hasn’t killed too many people in Germany yet, a lot of them struggle with the pandemic measures. The cost of living in Germany is relatively high, especially in bigger cities like Berlin, Hamburg, Munich or Frankfurt. Without the subsistence level of 800 Euros per month per person, it is nearly impossible to survive. Families, single parents, freelancers and smaller entrepreneurs are affected the most so far. Many of them cannot pay rent for their business or houses anymore.
The German government knows about the problem. That’s why an “unprecedented package of support to Europe's biggest economy worth hundreds of billions of euros to cushion the impact of measures to contain the novel coronavirus” was waved through all necessary institutions last week. It “covers several areas: Small companies and self-employed people such as artists and carers are to receive direct grants of up to 15,000 Euros over three months.”
If we were to discount the breakdown of the economy, relatively quieter streets of Berlin (you cannot call them empty here), and people wearing masks and gloves in public, the situation in Germany still seems relatively normal in the given circumstances.
What the media and public are irked about is that Germany was not as well prepared for a pandemic as it could be. The Robert Koch Institute (RKI), the government’s central scientific institution for biomedicine and one of the most important bodies for the safeguarding of public health in Germany, informed in the Parliament in a paper, way back in 2013 about a "pandemic caused by Virus Modi-SARS”. The text reads like a short script for what has happened so far. No one took it seriously though.
Now Germany is lacking staff, respirator masks, protective clothing and ventilators in hospitals or care homes. People working in the health and allied services sectors have to take the risk of being infected. What prevented Germany from large scale infections so far might just be the factor of time. As of March 29, 2020, RKI states:
- In total, 52,547 COVID-19 cases and 389 deaths due to COVID-19 have been electronically reported to the Robert Koch Institute in Germany.
- All 16 federal states are affected. The incidence of COVID-19 is highest in Hamburg, Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg.
- Most cases are between 35 and 59 years old; men are more affected than women.
- 88 per cent of deaths occurred in persons aged 70 years or older.
According to Health Minister Jens Spahn, “Germany is still in the calm before the storm of the coronavirus epidemic and is using the time it has won with extensive testing to prepare for a wave of cases expected in the coming weeks.”
“It’s going to get worse before it gets better,” say experts. I hope Germany can still get away with bruises and it gets better soon in countries where people have been affected badly. That said, I want to convey my utmost respect to the people of India who stick to the rules of the lockdown so gracefully.