Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Covid

Mumsnet doesn't verify the qualifications of users. If you have medical concerns, please consult a healthcare professional.

Why are the Germans invincible against C19??

144 replies

CochonDinde · 08/03/2020 21:48

I have close German friends, and my daughter's half German so I already knew they were made of tough stuff! But it's quite incredible as one of the highest infected countries they are reporting zero deaths and far fewer serious cases than anywhere else. Anyone any theories on why this is?

OP posts:
CochonDinde · 08/03/2020 23:09

Exactly @CochonDinde
(On another note, how I love Lynette Scavo!! Grin)

OP posts:
DishingOutDone · 08/03/2020 23:11

Toilet rolls. They have more toilet rolls.

MiniMum97 · 08/03/2020 23:12

@DishingOutDone 😂😂😂😂😂😂

AllTheseThingsThatIHaveNotDone · 08/03/2020 23:13

Their A+E is second to none. I was admitted with respiratory distress when I lived there and hooked up with oxygen and steroids within 15 minutes.

CochonDinde · 08/03/2020 23:13

I suspected that may be the case, @dishingoutdone

OP posts:
CochonDinde · 08/03/2020 23:15

@LynetteScavo should have tagged you in my earlier post rather than, erm, myself Blush

OP posts:
Hopeisnotastrategy · 08/03/2020 23:15

Excellent health care and superb organisational skills. It won’t save everybody, but it helps.

Less of them will be posting in forums boasting about how they are not taking it seriously and taking the piss.

AllTheseThingsThatIHaveNotDone · 08/03/2020 23:16

Also companies are taking the self-isolation very seriously - anyone on holiday at half term now working from home in one company. You know, Ordnung muss sein Wink

WinterCat · 08/03/2020 23:16

I have relatives there and from what I can gather, even with a diagnosed case in a colleague, they are just carrying on as normal. 🤷🏻‍♀️ I think we need to wait several months and then see the true stats before we can judge.

One thing I believe for certain is that right now, medically they are better equipped than we are.

They also most definitely have toilet rolls there. 😂

Gwenhwyfar · 08/03/2020 23:18

"They have pharmacies like this country has corner shops "

Belgium has a pharmacy on every corner as well so it can't be that.

CochonDinde · 08/03/2020 23:19

Still really intrigued as to what @T0tallyFuckedUpFamily post was alluding to... can anyone explain for my tired brain??

OP posts:
CochonDinde · 08/03/2020 23:20

I spent a lot of time there during my adolescence.. I remember believing the whole world could make a surprise visit and they would have enough cheese bread and beer for everyone Grin Fabulous country!

OP posts:
IrishMamaMia · 08/03/2020 23:20

They are also panic buying toilet paper @WildCat unless their shortages are caused by British ex - pats.

seasmize · 08/03/2020 23:22

I think it’s just the age of the outbreak. It takes 32-45+ for people to die from this, usually.

Possible also affecting a younger demographic so far.

Still a bit baffling.

Needmoresleep · 08/03/2020 23:22

Could it be the unfortunate timing of our half term, just as the Italian outbreak was getting underway.

Plus if Germans go skiing the are more likely to go to Bavaria/Austria.

A lot of our cases, which did not come from Asia came from Italy, and there was not much we could do.

PineappleDanish · 08/03/2020 23:22

There's a difference between "taking it seriously" and "scaring yourself to death obsessing over figures and constantly refreshing news pages".

GrumpyHoonMain · 08/03/2020 23:23

They may be verifying cause of death - I don’t think any country real time reports the Covid-19 deaths.

Mentounasc · 08/03/2020 23:28

I'm in Germany too.

The health system has far better funding than many countries, and although it's a health insurance based system everyone receives the same level of medical care (unlike the US, for instance). The hospitals are functioning at nowhere near critical care capacity right now. Hospital infrastructure is essentially fab. And better basic healthcare means that people with underlying conditions are probably already receiving excellent treatment for them, which makes them less vulnerable to succumbing to viruses.

Lots of the cases reported so far seem to be of younger people who have relatively mild symptoms and can be treated at home in isolation. Of the 28 confirmed cases in Berlin so far the vast majority don't need hospital care (the district where each infected person comes from is published each day, along with where they're being treated). That will keep intensive care beds free should the need arise.

The main Berlin hospital for epidemiology quickly started testing everyone who came along with viral /respiratory symptoms, even if they weren't classic coronavirus symptoms. People were tested for flu AND corona - the first case in Berlin actually had atypical symptoms and was only discovered via the precautionary test. So it was discovered in the city early on and his contacts were traced (by which time he'd already passed it on to a few others).

There's definitely a certain amount of luck involved that it hasn't hit an old people's home yet.

A huge effort is being made to trace and contain contacts with infected people. I read that anyone who breaks a quarantine and knowingly infects someone else can be fined up to 450,000 euros, which is fair enough. But also employees often have better legal rights so are more likely to continue being paid while in quarantine, which makes them less likely to take risks to pay the rent, I think.

The biggest change of all - people have stopped shaking hands! Once that really kicks in it's going to reduce transmissions radically. I'd be delighted if this were the death of the handshake.

kalinkafoxtrot45 · 08/03/2020 23:34

Another poster from Germany here, not far away from where the first German cases were reported. Contributing factors: people generally wash hands a lot, take time off when not feeling well, and follow rules. Healthcare is well organised and many businesses have already made contingency plans, home working etc. No panic where we are. Can even still buy loo roll. Grin

Justaboy · 08/03/2020 23:36

Smoking?, very intersting, wonder if thats the main reason why so many affected?, suppose where lung illness is there, then thats not going to help?.

Delicatelyscentedflavour · 08/03/2020 23:37

The figures are all totally made up.

MadameMeursault · 08/03/2020 23:38

Either those stats are wrong or China has got it well under control now.

CoffeeCoffeeTea · 08/03/2020 23:42

Why the panic buying of toilet paper?

Purplewhitelie · 08/03/2020 23:44

Italian are more honest.

BaronessBomburst · 08/03/2020 23:53

Belgium has a pharmacy on every corner as well so it can't be that.

Germany is far, far cleaner than Belgium. And much better organised.
I'll stop there because anything else I add will come across as racist, or as racial stereotyping.
But I do live sandwiched between the two so it's pretty easy to compare.
I secretly prefer Belgium despite it being a chaotic shit hole