Why are the Germans invincible against C19??

[CochonDinde]

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?

Increase of 111 cases today in Germany. Suggesting that they are doing better in terms of limiting spread really don't hold up.

Italy also has a pharmacy on every corner and a tremendous culture of cleanliness, as well as a generally proactive approach to sickness. The Mumsnet Zoflora addiction pales next to the Italian love for disinfectant-based cleaning products. There are irresponsible chancers here as there are anywhere (just see the various threads here by people wanting to get away with travelling here while it's quiet on the basis that the FCO haven't completely banned it yet) but, where I am, people are taking the rules seriously.

Italy has been incredibly unlucky. Nothing deserved about it. Stop dogwhistling.

I heard some official saying it as possible Itaky have been "unlucky" precisely because they took steps early. They were the only European country to ban flights from China? He described it as a Maginot Line. People didnt stay in China, they found another route and then you didn't know where they'd come from.

If German were doing better at isolation etc shouldn't that mean they had fewer cases, not milder symptoms?

I think it's simply down to the fact that they're a rich country and their population is in generally better shape than other countries.

I may be wrong but I would suspect that italy gets more chinese tourists than germany.

There really is no particular mystery. The virus hasn't been in Germany as long as it has in Italy (except for those isolated cases at the Bavarian factory that were tested and isolated early). No one dies from this virus quickly. It takes typically a minimum of three weeks.

To suggest Italians are crazy rule breakers who don't care about the quarantine and just do as they please is completely unfounded and pretty disrespectful. The high mortality rate there is due to the fact that the virus was undetected in hospitals - and hospitals are obviously not exactly filled with young, healthy people. It's really very sad. No one deserves this, no nation is superior to another.

Ok well now this thread is unfortunately pointless as the first fatality has occurred. We’re all in the same boat.

Are you referring to the German tourist who died in Egypt Stella or has there been another fatality?

Ah internet says 2 deaths but not telling me the Bundesland. Anyone know?

Heinsberg and Essen.

apparently an 89 year old female from Heinsberg

Went to German source (die Zeit) - 89 year old woman from Essen and someone from Heinsberg.

Ah you beat me to it, thanks guys Have just been catching up (not being a tricoteuse, my daughter in Bavaria which had 256 cases has weak lungs so I am trying to keep all in perspective and not worry but of course you do worry).

Belgium has a pharmacy on every corner as well so it can't be that
I've been Belgium this weekend visiting dd who is on erasmus placement in a hospital in Gent
Dd says nobody is that worried and they just joked about it.

www.welt.de/vermischtes/article206136215/Coronavirus-Deutschland-Virologe-sehr-ernst-5000-Brandenburger-isoliert.html

yes certainly Germany is not seeing itself as ''invincible'' - they expect number of deaths to go up and do not see themselves as different to Italy.

Wow, some crazy assumptions on this thread!

As a PP explained, Germany is still in the containment phase and therefore it seems senseless to compare cases there with the situation in Italy.

Healthcare is much better than here in the UK, I'll concede that, but almost everyone I know from home smokes the worst brand of cheap cigarettes and loves McDonald's.

There always was a culture of staying home from work/school when sick when I was growing up and I have to admit that when I first moved here, I was surprised at how many people don't take proper care of themselves when ill. I quite admire it, though. Stiff-upper lip! I really don't think that any amount of vitamins, pro-biotics and lying on the couch will have impacted the number of cases, however.

Oh, and my mother called me last week to say that her local supermarket had been almost stripped out. She didn't say what the situation was with the toilet roll, however! ;-)

Culturally, it's not as common to think the world revolves around you, so a recommendation to wash more, self isolate, etc, is more likely to be followed.

According to a German colleague 'you do you, hun' would result in the person saying that being absolutely seriously asked if they were insane.

No snacking.
My German friends didn't eat crisps or chocolate or snack between meals.
If they did it was fruit brought from home in tupperwear.
No corner shop useage. No vending machine useage. No snack stall useage. No snacks from petrol stations.

Germany is not immune. They have announced several Covid 19 deaths today. All older people with underlying health problems.

Their government advice is identical to that given out by UK government. Wash hands, sneeze into elbow, avoid handshakes and kissing and keep your distance from others.

They have not locked down Rheinland Westphalen despite there being around 1000 cases there.

They do have more hospital beds per head of population than UK. But their healthcare system is fragmented which makes a national response more challenging.

Brits seem to enjoy criticising their own government more than Germans.

PS. The trains do not run on time in Germany either.

Germany has way more critical care beds - the most in Europe and almost 5 times as many as the UK. Looking at these figures, it’s laughable to hear someone (Matt Hancock? Can’t remember) on the Today Programme this morning saying there’s no better place to be than in the UK for Coronavirus patients.

Maybe they're doing more widespread testing, and a better job of contact tracing, and so picking up more of the milder cases.

I read on another thread that Italy are mainly testing people who are ill enough to need hospital treatment, and are advising everyone else to stay at home and self treat. If they're only testing the more severe cases that will make the stats look worse.

No snacking.
My German friends didn't eat crisps or chocolate or snack between meals.
If they did it was fruit brought from home in tupperwear.
No corner shop useage. No vending machine useage. No snack stall useage. No snacks from petrol stations.

I live in Germany and absolutely none of this is true in Germany today.

@Bookoffacts strange then that in Germany petrol stations sell lots of junk food, vending machines are plentiful and the sales of chocolates and sweets are high. I guess we disciplined Germans just buy them and chuck them in the bin.

Germany has a massive obesity problem - very similar to the UK.

I heard some official saying it as possible Italy have been "unlucky" precisely because they took steps early.

@ElderAve I think there may be some truth in that. I've just watched Johnson's press conference and the expert has said pretty much the same thing. The algorithm suggests that the containment phase should be prolonged for as long as possible and it seems that from our fortunate vantage point in northern Europe, we now know which measures are least effective at containing the virus.

It is incredibly sad and I really feel for the Italians.