What Is the Secret Behind the Low Death Rate in Germany?

Although the number of infections with the Corona virus exceeded the threshold of 100,000, Germany remained very far from the death rates reached by its counterparts from Western European countries, such as Spain and Italy, and more recently France. Until the end of the first week of April, the death toll did not come close to 2000, or 1.9% of injuries, compared to 12.5% ​​in Italy and 9.5% in Spain and France.

From the beginning of the epidemic, Germany was one of the first European countries to benefit from South Korea's experience in managing and adopting the emerging health crisis. One of the first cases was recorded in February of a 22-year-old. Although he did not show any symptoms of the disease, the school administration, where he works, asked him to undergo a corona examination after learning of his participation in a local carnival where one of the injuries was recorded. Once his injury was confirmed, the school was immediately closed, and all students, teachers, and workers were quarantined. As a result of this incident alone, the investigation was tested on at least 235 people.

It is calculated for Germany to apply the virus screening tests on a scale that exceeds its western counterparts, as it did not limit itself to confirming or denying the infection in patients with disturbing symptoms or risk factors - as is the case in France - but also included the investigation of those who show minor symptoms, or even those who do not show them Symptoms at all, and this raised the total number of recorded infections.

The German warning is due to the necessity of conducting a comprehensive survey of injuries until mid-January, before the epidemic took its sensation, as the development of the first local test to detect the injury was recorded for the Charité Hospital in Berlin, and the requirements for investigation were available in all laboratories of the country on the day The first case was registered in February.

Today Germany tops the list of statistics in terms of the number of tests that are conducted weekly (350 thousand tests). The effect of early detection of the disease on slowing its spread cannot be minimized, as it paves the way for more feasible medical decisions at the right moment, whether in terms of isolating these cases, or making the necessary intervention whenever available and the need arises, as well as the effect of using the artificial respirator in a timely manner on Increased patient survival.

Likewise, the impact of the free laboratory examination on the response of citizens cannot be ignored. Perhaps this is one of the many loopholes for the health system in countries such as the United States, for example, as Congress did not pass this test free of charge until last March, which prevented the early detection of a large number of injuries. In Germany, a large-scale investigation strategy does not overlook medical personnel, as they undergo rapid and periodic tests.

At a time when health care systems in the rest of the countries are struggling with lack of association, the ability of the health care system in Germany to not only meet the needs of its citizens, but rather to accept patients from neighboring countries, thus relieving the pressure on the intensive care units in France, Italy and Spain. This is the result of a restructuring of infrastructure and human resources in health care institutions, which led to double the number of workers trained in isolation and intensive care units, and raised the number of beds and equipment in them to 40 beds per 100,000 citizens, compared to 12 beds in Italy and 7 beds in Netherlands, for example.

Although the health authorities were indulging in containing the unprecedented crisis, they were keen to lay the foundations for a study distributed throughout the country, conducted on random samples taken from 100,000 people. This study monitors the levels of coronavirus antibodies weekly, which gives an image of the ability of citizens to build immunity in the face of the epidemic.

Some experts do not hide their cautious optimism about the impact of applying social divergence in limiting the spread of the Corona virus and sparing the health care system access to a shortage of rescue equipment, such as ventilators, despite the relative readiness of the intensive care units in Germany compared to neighboring countries, in addition to the decrease in time Professor Susan Herold, expert of infectious pulmonary diseases at the University Hospital of Jason, sees that the situation will not be reassuring unless the time period required for the number of cases to double has reached 12-14 days, and she has only agreed I, doctors will not have to make the decision that some patients are entitled to ventilators compared to others.