The measures taken so far against the corona pandemic in Germany have been successful, according to the Federal Minister of Health Jens Spahn. “As of today, the outbreak has become manageable and manageable again,” said the CDU politician on Friday in Berlin. In mid-March, there was a very strong dynamic in the outbreak. That is why the federal and state governments have decided to “slow down” and, for example, have banned major events, closed daycare centers, and schools, as well as restaurants and shops. ”Now we can say that it was a success.
We have managed to bring dynamic growth back to linear growth. The infection numbers have dropped significantly, especially the relative increases from day to day, “said Spahn. It was also encouraging that since April 12 more people have recovered than there are newly infected people. The President of the Robert Koch Institute, Lothar Wieler, also spoke of “that we have achieved a really good interim result”. There are several positive trends. This has slowed the daily increase in the number of cases. The number of reproductions is currently 0.7. “That means that on average, not every person who is infected is currently infecting another person.” Nevertheless, the health authorities nationwide still reported more than 3,000 cases a day, said, Wieler.
As predicted, the number of deaths is also increasing. “We had the biggest increase this week.” The proportion of deaths in all reported cases is now 2.9 percent, and more and more staff in medical facilities are falling ill. The number had increased by six percent compared to the previous week. Affected personnel in medical facilities now account for five percent of all reported cases, and Wieler says there are currently no bottlenecks in treatment capacities. As of midnight, a total of around 134,000 COVID-19 cases were known, 3380 more than on the previous day. There were 3868 deaths registered.
More than 81,000 people have recovered, and there have been 1.73 million tests in the past few weeks. The laboratories in Germany could now carry out 730,000 tests. Nine percent delivered positive results. Wieler concluded from this that the tests could be used in a more targeted manner. According to Spahn, initial agreements have been made for the production of medical protective masks in Germany. After an initial tender, contracts were awarded to around 50 companies.
This should produce ten million FFP2 special masks and 40 million surgical masks per week from mid-August. This largely covers the basic requirements for the health care system, and Spahn emphasized that in addition to procurement abroad, such independence is important. Because of the corona epidemic, protective equipment for medical personnel is scarce worldwide. When wearing face masks in everyday life, Spahn continues to rely on voluntariness and initially rejects a duty.
“My impression is that most citizens are very responsible for the current situation.” More and more people would wear mouth and nose protection. “In conclusion and principle, I prefer freedom, insight, participation, acceptance by convincing with arguments, because experience shows that commandments bring more support than obligations.” First of all, the development should be awaited in the coming days, said the Minister of Health.
