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Elizabeth Bratton identifies the differences between Germany and the UK's approach to the coronavirus. This article explores varying approaches to testing facilities, numbers of hospital beds, and tracing methods. While Germany were quick to close numerous institutions, sporting events with over 200,000 attendees went ahead in the UK.
The UK has reported 114,217 cases of coronavirus, and has suffered 15,464 deaths. Germany, however, has had 143,150 official cases of the pandemic, yet only 4,451 lives have been lost.* The mortality rate in Germany is just over 1%; in the UK, it is 9%.
While the UK is set to remain in lockdown for the next three weeks, small shops in Germany have begun to re-open, and schools will gradually begin welcoming students again on the 4th of May.
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Firstly, Germany has been conducting over 50,000 tests on a daily basis, and some experts have claimed that the weekly rate could actually be closer to 500,000. While Boris Johnson's government have set their sights on 100,000 tests a day, the New York Times have reported that less than a fifth of that target is currently being met. As of the 4th of April, Germany had carried out over 1.3 million swab tests, while, as of the 10th, less than 400,000 had been carried out in the UK. Health secretary Matt Hancock explained Germany's progress by arguing that the country "had 100 test labs at the start, largely thanks to Roche", and explaining that the UK "had to start from a lower base". Roche are a pharmaceutical giant based in Switzerland, who had already provided Germany with a diagnostics industry, and a number of labs in which testing could be carried out. The Financial Times explain that, in Germany, many of those with mild symptoms are being tested for the disease. However, in the UK, testing has been almost completely limited to those displaying severe symptoms.
Yet, some are reluctant to solely attribute Germany's successful approach to their links with big pharmaceutical corporations. The government's rapid response to the first reported case of COVID-19 should have set an example for all European countries, as they desperately tried to isolate the virus. The victim, and assumed spreader, was a 47-year-old who had attended Karneval festivities in the area of Langbroich, after travelling to the Netherlands. Immediately, all kindergartens and schools in the local area were closed for a matter of days, while authorities scrambled to identify each and every person who had interacted with the patient.
Meanwhile, in the UK, the Cheltenham horse racing festival went ahead. It commenced on the 9th of March, and came to an end on the 13th: just 10 days before Boris Johnson announced the strict measures the country is under now. Over 250,000 people attended the event, and, while “The standards of hand wash and hygiene at the Festival were of the highest level", news outlets such as The Guardian received reports of race-goers contracting the virus. Meanwhile, outrage ensued as it was revealed that 20,000 people travelled from Ireland to the event. Additionally, Liverpool's football match against Atlético Madrid was hosted at Anfield, in spite of knowledge that Madrid was one of the worst-affected cities,
The BBC reports that, in 2016, Germany spent €4,271 per person on healthcare, while the UK only allocated €3,566 to each citizen. Karl Lauterbach, a professor of health economics and epidemiology at the University of Cologne, recognises the efforts of Social Democrats and Christian Democrats, who have "modernised" Germany's healthcare system, through providing more hospital beds, ventilators, ICU spaces, and more hospital doctors. He suggests that the country's system "is in a reasonable shape" for the pandemic.
On the 12th of March, the UK government announced plans to adopt a "herd immunity" strategy, in order to combat the virus. However, four days later, this tactic was abandoned, after a report by the Imperial College London predicted that up to 250,000 lives could be lost in the UK, if this route was pursued. While four days may seem relatively insignificant, there was clearly a delay in putting short-term plans into action. The "herd immunity" method was never considered in Germany, as schools shut on the 13th of March: a week before those in the UK. The EU country is currently in the process of adopting the "suppression" technique, and has already planned strategies to address the small number of remaining cases, once infections significantly decrease. Professor Lauterbach explained: “Once the suppression has worked and we are down to, let’s say, a couple of hundred cases per day or even better, less than a hundred cases, we will try to follow up on every case and get in touch with everyone who has been in touch with those new cases, quarantine and test them, and we will also likely require masks to be worn on public transport and in some work places.”
Many have been speculating about the UK's potential exit strategy, with some believing that the government will adopt a three-stage tactic, in which restrictions would be released in phases. However, Michael Gove, Cabinet Office Minister, has shut down rumours of a "traffic light" approach, while Education Secretary Gavin Williamson has emphasised that there is no clear plan as to when schools will re-open. Shadow health secretary Jonathan Ashworth criticised the Conservative government's lack of openness, arguing: “We need to trust the British people and not treat them like children. We must respect their common sense.”
* statistics taken from https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/