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German doctors are nakedly protesting PPE shortages to show how vulnerable they are without protection

Apr 29, 2020, 05:15 IST
Insider
German health workers protest a lack of PPE by going nude.Blanke Bedenken

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  • A group of German doctors working on the front lines of the coronavirus are nakedly protesting a lack of personal protective equipment.
  • One of the doctors told Arztezeitung, a German magazine for doctors, the nudity was a symbol of how vulnerable health workers were without personal protective equipment.
  • As of April 28, Germany had 158,758 confirmed cases of COVID-19 with 6,126 deaths according to Johns Hopkins University data.
  • Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories

A group of German doctors, concerned over a lack of protective healthcare equipment, is baring it all to protest their lack of protective equipment.

The group calls itself Blanke Bedenken, which translates to "Blank Concerns" on Google Translate, but according to The Guardian it's also known as "Naked Qualms." The group was started by German healthcare workers who were worried about the country's lack of personal protective equipment, as they treat people with the coronavirus, according to The Guardian.

The equipment is necessary to protect workers from the coronavirus, and the group said they were frustrated after spending months requesting equipment only to be ignored by the government. So they threw off their clothes in protest.

One of the doctors in the group named Ruben Bernau told Arztezeitung, a German magazine for doctors: "The nudity is a symbol of how vulnerable we are without protection."

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Another doctor said she was "trained to sew up wounds" according to The Guardian, and asked: "Why am I now having to sew my own face mask?"

German doctors pose nude to protest lack of healthcare equipment.Screenshot / Blanke Bedenken

As of April 27, Germany had 158,758 confirmed cases of COVID-19 with 6,126 deaths according to Johns Hopkins University data.

On March 5, after pressures grew for PPE in Germany, the government banned exporting medical protection gear so the country wouldn't run out of masks, gloves, and suits.

But that wasn't enough for Blanke Bedenken, which took aim at Germany's government on its website. The group claimed Germany's government said it was prepared for the coronavirus in February, but protective clothing, disinfectants, and disposable masks had since been used up.

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German health workers protest a lack of PPE by going nude.Blanke Bedenken

It also claimed that despite concerns about inadequately being able to protect themselves healthcare workers continued to provide care in Germany.

The campaign was inspired by a French doctor named Alain Colombie, who photographed himself naked in his practice and called the outcome "cannon fodder."

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