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How Quickly Could COVID-19 Overwhelm Germany's Hospitals? Merkel Does the Math
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April 16, 2020
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1:53Now PlayingGermany's chancellor, a scientist by training, explained how narrow margins in infection rates can have substantial effects on the ability of the country's health care system to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic.
Angela Merkel made the remarks as she announced that some restrictions will be loosened, while others needed to stay in place despite numbers indicating a slower increase in confirmed new infections.
Merkel explained that authorities were trying to keep the reproduction factor of the rate of infections to one person infecting a single other, rather than passing it on to 1.3 people which would quickly multiply to overhelm the health system.
"The curve has flattened", Merkel said, but warned that the country was still on "thin ice" and dealing with "a fragile situation" in which "caution is the order of the day".
Germany plans to let small shops reopen as early as next week after a four-week coronavirus shutdown, but Europe's biggest economy is keeping strict social distancing rules in place.
After much-anticipated talks Wednesday with Germany's 16 state governors, Merkel set out a plan for the first steps of a slow restart of public life.
A ban on gatherings of more than two people in public has been in place since March 23 and was due to run until Sunday. Merkel said the restrictions will remain in place, and officials will review at the end of the month what happens after May 3.
Nonessential shops also have been closed for nearly four weeks. Other shops of up to 800 square meters (8,600 square feet) will be allowed to start reopening, with hygiene precautions.
Merkel said the decision applies to the period from Monday through May 3.
She said authorities also will recommend that people wear face masks on public transport and when shopping. Major events won't be allowed through August 31.
According to the Johns Hopkins University, Germany has more than 134,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases and more than 3,800 deaths.
For most people, the coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough, that clear up in two to three weeks. But it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia, and death for some people, especially older adults and people with existing health problems.
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