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<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="87" type="COUNTRY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Germany">Germany</keyword> faces a second <keyword id="1754604" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="coronavirus">coronavirus</keyword> wave if the country does not act quickly to contain a series of new outbreaks across the country, a top virologist has warned.</li><li>Christian Drosten, director of the Institute of Virology at Berlin's Charité Hospital, said: 'In two months, I think we're going to have a problem if we don't turn on all the alarm sensors again now.'</li><li>Drosten said that there are already clear signs in several places, including Berlin, that Covid-19 was returning to the population.</li><li>Germany on Tuesday ordered a western region back into lockdown after a major outbreak of coronavirus infections linked to a slaughterhouse prompted fears of a second wave.</li></ul>Germany faces a second coronavirus wave if the country does not act quickly to contain a series of new outbreaks across the country, a viral expert has warned.Christian Drosten, who directs the Institute of Virology at Berlin's Charité Hospital, said he was concerned that outbreaks — including a major one at a meatpacking plant this week — will cause the virus to spread further among the population."I am not optimistic that in a month's time we will still have such a peaceful situation as we have now in terms of epidemic activity," he said on his podcast, in <a href="https://www.thelocal.de/20200624/top-virologist-warns-of-a-second-coronavirus-wave-in-germany">comments reported by German-language newspaper The Local</a>."In two months, I think we're going to have a problem if we don't turn on all the alarm sensors again now."Germany on Tuesday ordered a western region back into lockdown, after a major outbreak of coronavirus infections linked to a slaughterhouse prompted fears of a second wave and a return to nationwide lockdown measures.Authorities said that 1,550 people in the area around the meatpacking plant had tested positive for Covid-19, but have since said the number was still being verified, <a href="https://apnews.com/da33e87b13b9634bfc5e0e1bedb7419c">according to the Associated Press</a>.People in Guetersloh county, in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, where the plant is located, will from next week once again face some lockdown restrictions as authorities try to stop the virus from spreading, <a href="https://apnews.com/da33e87b13b9634bfc5e0e1bedb7419c">the Associated Press reported</a>.Drosten, whose research focuses on novel viruses, has become a cult figure in Germany since the Covid-19 pandemic, where his podcast <a href="https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/04/how-pandemic-made-virologist-unlikely-cult-figure">has become the most popular</a> in the country.He said that German authorities must now take action to contain the virus, or risk a second wave of infections later this year. He said that there are already clear signs in several places, including Berlin, that Covid-19 was returning to the population.Drosten described the "terrible situation" in some southern US states, where he said lockdown restrictions had been lifted too early and where cases have begun to rise dramatically.

Germany could soon be hit by a second coronavirus wave, according to a top virologist

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Daniel Koch, the infectious diseases chief of Switzerland, announced that healthy children under the age of 10 can give their grandparents brief hugs. </li><li>Most countries in the world are using lockdown guidelines that recommend children do not hug their elderly grandparents, out of concern that the children may infect elders with the virus.</li><li>World Health Organization technical lead Maria van Kerkhove and German virologist Christian Drosten publicly disagreed with Koch, saying that researchers don't know enough about the disease to assume children aren't at risk of spreading it.</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/?hprecirc-bullet">Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories</a>.</li></ul>For children around the world, video calls have been the main way they communicate with grandparents while quarantined. But children in Switzerland under the age of 10 have been given the green light to hug their grandparents, according to new recommendation from Daniel Koch, the country's infectious disease chief."Young children are not infected and do not transmit the virus," Koch <a href="https://www.srf.ch/news/schweiz/verhalten-in-der-pandemie-enkelkinder-umarmen-ja-hueten-nein">said</a> in a press conference. "They just don't have the receptors to catch the disease." He said brief hugs are safe and could benefit seniors' mental health. Most countries in the world have enforced lockdown rules that do not advise children to have contact with their elderly grandparents, but Switzerland has bucked the trend.This new revision of the current guidelines comes after consultation with Swiss university experts, according to broadcaster <a href="https://www.srf.ch/news/schweiz/verhalten-in-der-pandemie-enkelkinder-umarmen-ja-hueten-nein">SRF,</a> and only applies to healthy children under age 10.Babysitting is still not allowed, and contact should be kept short, Koch said."Children are most certainly not the drivers of this epidemic," Koch said earlier in <a href="https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/sci-tech/fact-check_true-or-false--children-are-not-the-drivers-of-the-coronavirus-pandemic/45710550">April.</a> In Switzerland, people under 20 accounted for around <a href="https://covid-19-schweiz.bagapps.ch/fr-1.html">3% of all COVID-19 cases.</a>Switzerland is one of a few European countries beginning to loosen lockdown measures, <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-04-27/swiss-buy-garden-soil-book-massages-amid-return-to-normal">taking the first step in a three-stage plan</a> to reopen the country by allowing barbershops, tattooists, and garden stores to accept customers. Swiss public schools will open on May 11, while libraries and museums will reopen on June 8.<h2>Many scientists disagree with Koch's decision</h2>German virologist Christian Drosten, who was one of the first to develop a WHO-approved <keyword id="1754604" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="coronavirus">coronavirus</keyword> test, has publicly disagreed with Koch. He told Austrian broadcaster <a href="https://orf.at/stories/3163240/">ORF</a> that caution should be exercised when looking at studies which show that children are less affected by the virus. Far too little research has been done, he said, and the results that exist are contradictory.Drosten pointed out that the findings of a <a href="https://www.rivm.nl/en/novel-coronavirus-covid-19/children-and-covid-19">Dutch study,</a> which was used as evidence that children do not play a big role in spreading <keyword id="8763838" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="covid-19">COVID-19</keyword>, were not statistically significant.In the US, where people under 18 accounted for <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/69/wr/mm6914e4.htm">1.7% of all COVID-19 cases,</a> health experts are still advising that young children keep a distance from the elderly."I'm sure many grandparents around the world are dying to hug their grandchildren," Maria van Kerkhove, a World Health Organization technical lead, said during a WHO press conference on April 29. "There's no reason to think that children are less susceptible to infection if they're exposed, and that they can't transmit. We're really not seeing this in the epidemiology."One recent study published in <a href="https://www.thelancet.com/journals/laninf/article/PIIS1473-3099(20)30287-5/fulltext">The Lancet,</a> examining COVID-19 cases in Shenzhen, China, concluded that "children are at a similar risk of infection to the general population, although less likely to have severe symptoms; hence they should be considered in analyses of transmission and control."Read the original article on <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/children-can-hug-their-grandparents-swiss-infectious-disease-chief-2020-4">Business Insider</a>

Switzerland's infectious disease chief says children under age 10 can hug their grandparents. Not all experts agree.

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Health officials across the globe are facing death threats for their <keyword id="1754604" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="coronavirus">coronavirus</keyword> responses. </li><li>Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's top-infectious disease expert, said he received death threats last month. </li><li>Officials in Australia, Sweden, and Germany also reported threats, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2020/09/14/coronavirus-death-threats-global-health-officials/">The Washington Post</a> reported.</li></ul>Around the world, health officials are facing death threats as they attempt to advise their respective population on ways to reduced or contain the spread of the coronavirus. Last month, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/fauci-its-inconceivable-he-has-received-personal-death-threats-2020-8">nation's top-infectious disease expert, said he received death threats</a> because of the "political tone" of the virus.Fauci has advised for social distancing measures, expanded testing, and contact tracing, among other efforts to quell the spread of the coronavirus in the US. His advice has sometimes gone against statements made by President Donald Trump.In Australia, Queensland's chief health officer, Jeannette Young also faced threats, <a href="https://www.theaustralian.com.au/breaking-news/qlds-chief-health-officer-has-constant-police-support-says-ama-leader/news-story/90970169c02922130db2af2521002fe3">The Australian</a> reported. Young now has police stationed outside her house after she closed Queensland borders with neighboring states, which prevented some residents from attending funerals of loved ones. The move was made in an effort to stop the spread of COVID-19.In Germany, experts like Karl Lauterbach and Christian Drosten also said their received death threats after the country imposed a shutdown and closed schools in the spring, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2020/09/14/coronavirus-death-threats-global-health-officials/">The Washington Post</a> reported. Anders Tegnell, the "architect" behind Sweden's relaxed coronavirus approach, reported to police he and his family faced death threats. Earlier this summer, The National Association of County and City Health Officials reported that <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/20-public-health-officials-fired-quit-left-in-recent-weeks-2020-6">at least 24 public health officials in the US either quit, left, or retired</a> from their positions in the months since the pandemic began in January 2020. "Across the country, in red states and blue states, large metropolitan areas and rural communities, <keyword id="6364896" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="public-health">public health</keyword> department officials and staff have been physically threatened and politically scapegoated," the organization wrote in a <a href="https://www.naccho.org/blog/articles/compromising-the-role-of-public-health-officials-makes-our-nation-less-safe">statement.</a>"Too many have lost their jobs for trying to protect and defend the health of their community in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic," the organization said. "Many others have stepped down, interrupting their careers, to protect themselves and their loved ones from actual or perceived threats."In Kentucky, one county stopped providing coronavirus information after receiving negative comments and a death threat. Grayson County health officials stopped giving updates on social media because the comments were impacting their mental health, <a href="https://www.wdrb.com/news/after-death-threat-grayson-county-health-officials-providing-covid-19-updates-on-social-media-again/article_29596b6c-f6c7-11ea-a426-4b77c11a8036.html">WDRB</a> reported. They resumed two weeks after the threats, and told the outlet they began blocking people to avoid "toxic" information.

Health officials worldwide are receiving death threats because of their work to educate the public and stop the spread of COVID-19

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Some <keyword id="6355005" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="news">news</keyword> outlets reported that <keyword id="6354493" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="children">children</keyword> cannot transmit <keyword id="8763838" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="covid-19">COVID-19</keyword>, based on a recently published review of 78 previous COVID-19 studies. </li><li>One of the researchers issued a statement clarifying that children "almost certainly do transmit COVID-19."</li><li>The World Health Organization has also cautioned against claims that children cannot transmit COVID-19, reminding the public that there is a lot scientists still don't know about the disease.</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/?hprecirc-bullet">Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories</a>.</li></ul>As governments weigh the costs and benefits of lifting lockdowns, a debate over just how vulnerable children are to COVID-19 is emerging. Switzerland's infectious diseases chief <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/children-can-hug-their-grandparents-swiss-infectious-disease-chief-2020-4">declared</a> this week that children under the age of 10 "don't have the receptors to catch the disease," and the country is reopening its public schools on May 11. On Thursday, the picture was further muddied by coverage of a large <a href="https://dontforgetthebubbles.com/evidence-summary-paediatric-covid-19-literature/">review </a><a href="https://dontforgetthebubbles.com/evidence-summary-paediatric-covid-19-literature/">of 78 available studies</a> conducted by the UK Royal College of Paediatrics, which said: "The role of children in transmission is unclear, but it seems likely they do not play a significant role." The first articles to cover the review said there was no evidence to date that any children had passed the virus on to adults.But one of the researchers that authored the review in question, Alasdair Munro, insists their findings were misunderstood, and that children can indeed pass the virus to adults. <div type="image" title="coronavirus children" height="2667" width="3556" msid="75481623" hostid="261"></div>"Children almost certainly DO transmit COVID-19," Munro, a clinical research fellow in pediatric infectious diseases at University Hospital Southampton, said on <a href="https://twitter.com/apsmunro/status/1255876771796471808">Twitter</a> on Thursday, adding: "Growing evidence suggests children are less susceptible to infection, have milder infection, and are infrequently responsible for household transmission."The Royal College of Pediatrics also corrected the record, <a href="https://twitter.com/RCPCHtweets/status/1255838973584379905">tweeting</a> that "a number of media reports, citing RCPCH, have incorrectly suggested that children cannot transmit COVID-19. This is not the the RCPCH position, nor is it based on evidence."The confusion stemmed, in part, from a reference in the review to a study by the China/WHO joint commission. People interviewed by members of the commission <a href="https://www.who.int/docs/default-source/coronaviruse/who-china-joint-mission-on-covid-19-final-report.pdf">could not recall</a> a single episode where a child transmitted the disease to an adult. However, the review also states: "Evidence that [children] are not a reservoir of disease does not exist."<h2>The evidence shows children are less likely to get seriously ill with COVID-19</h2>The evidence shows that children are far less likely to get gravely ill with COVID-19, and the death rate among children is low.According to the US <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/69/wr/mm6914e4.htm">Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,</a> 1.7% of 150,000 American COVID-19 cases affected people under the age of 18. Globally the amount of children with COVID-19 is under 2% of all cases, from <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.03.15.20036368v1">Korea</a> to <a href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/fullarticle/2764394">Spain</a> to <a href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2763401">Italy.</a>In Iceland, where 6% of the population was tested, <a href="https://t.co/LuNQ3Ij1HU?amp=1">none of the 848 children tested</a> were positive. In a town in Italy where 2.6% of residents had the new <keyword id="1754604" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="coronavirus">coronavirus</keyword>, <a href="https://t.co/nlSYiVB0RS?amp=1">0% of children under 10 years</a> tested positive.<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/some-children-develop-severe-infections-from-coronavirus-2020-3?r=US&amp;IR=TIR=T">Another study</a> of 2,000 children with COVID-19 in China found that 90% of them were asymptomatic, 39% developed pneumonia without symptoms, and 6% of children developed severe infections.<h2>Experts warn there is nowhere near enough evidence to feel confident that children don't spread the virus</h2>SARS was another respiratory disease that also affected adults more than children. "Transmission of SARS from pediatric patients appears to be uncommon but is possible," wrote the authors of a <a href="https://journals.lww.com/pidj/Abstract/2007/01000/Severe_Acute_Respiratory_Syndrome_in_Children.14.aspx">2006 study.</a>However, German virologist Christian Drosten, director of the Institute of Virology at Berlin's Charite hospital, urged policymakers to exercise caution when looking at studies examining the effects of COVID-19 on children. He <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/children-can-hug-their-grandparents-swiss-infectious-disease-chief-2020-4">pointed out</a> that the findings of a <a href="https://www.rivm.nl/en/novel-coronavirus-covid-19/children-and-covid-19" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Dutch study,</a> which was used as evidence that children do not play a big role in spreading COVID-19, were not statistically significant.According to his own research, Drosten said, children can carry as high levels of the coronavirus as adults. He and his colleagues <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-germany-braun/german-social-distancing-will-be-extended-until-may-10-merkel-aide-says-idUSKBN22C1C1">warned</a> "against an unlimited reopening of schools and kindergartens in the present situation."In an <a href="https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/media-resources/press-briefings">April 29 press conference,</a> World Health Organization technical lead Maria van Kerkhove doubled down on warnings against seeing children as immune, or unable to pass on the virus. "There's no reason to think that children are less susceptible to infection if they're exposed, and that they can't transmit," she said. "We're really not seeing this in the epidemiology."Read the original article on <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/children-do-transmit-covid-19-says-researcher-amid-confusion-2020-4">Business Insider</a>

Children 'do transmit COVID-19' to adults, says researcher whose study was 'misunderstood' as evidence that kids cannot spread coronavirus

Reuters/Tyrone SiuA child wears a mask at Hong Kong West Kowloon High Speed Train Station on January 29, 2020.<ul class="summary-list"><li>The new coronavirus, which originated in Wuhan, has <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/wuhan-coronavirus-spread-every-region-china-2020-1">spread throughout China</a>, and to <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/china-virus-everything-we-know-deadly-2019-ncov-wuhan-spread-2020-1">at least 19 other countries</a> around the globe.</li><li>In China, the virus has so far killed at least 170 people, and sickened over 8,200 more. </li><li>The only way to know for sure that you have 2019-nCoV and not some other viral illness, is with a lab test.</li><li>If you haven't been in China recently, or been around someone who has been to China's Hubei province and is sick, it's very unlikely that you've caught the bug.</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/?hprecirc-bullet">Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories</a>.</li></ul>The novel Wuhan coronavirus, formally known as 2019-nCoV, is not easy to diagnose. The virus is in the same family as some common cold bugs, and it is related to both SARS and MERS, which are also <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/where-coronavirus-name-comes-from-2020-1">coronaviruses</a>. At airports and other travel checkpoints around the globe, authorities are now dispatching thermometer-toting health workers to screen for people with fevers, which is one initial indication the virus might be present. "The symptoms of this disease early are fever, and cough, and respiratory," Dr. Nancy Messonnier, Director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases at the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) told reporters on Wednesday. But without <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/wuhan-coronavirus-china-shortage-test-kits-lottery-2020-1">laboratory testing</a>, there's no way to tell for sure if a person has the novel coronavirus, and not a more commonplace viral illness, like the flu.<h2>The only way to tell 2019-nCoV apart properly is by studying its viral genome sequence</h2>Reuters/Carlos Garcia RawlinsA staff member checks the temperature of a passenger entering a subway station in Beijing, China on January 28, 2020.Professor Christian Drosten, who studies emerging infections at the German Center for Infection Research, developed one of the first novel coronavirus tests for 2019-nCoV at his lab. He says making a test to screen for a virus like the novel coronavirus is pretty easy to do, once you know what <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/genome/viruses/">specific sequences of the virus genome in question</a> look like. "We anticipated this would be a SARS-related virus, and we've been working on SARS-related viruses, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/wuhan-coronavirus-sars-bats-animals-to-humans-2020-1">mainly from bats</a>, for a long time," he told Insider.Once news of the new virus outbreak in China reached his lab, his team quickly created several different potential versions of a coronavirus test, hoping some might be a match for <a href="https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(20)30183-5/fulltext">the new virus with pneumonia-like symptoms</a> that originated in Wuhan, China."When there was <a href="https://www.who.int/csr/don/12-january-2020-novel-coronavirus-china/en/">the first release of sequence</a> from China [mid-January], we immediately compared our candidate tests with this sequence, and we saw that almost all our candidate tests were right," he said.Now, his tests (and others like them) can be dispatched to determine if someone has the new coronavirus in a kind of genetic sequence matching game.<h2>Scientists use patient samples of mucus and saliva to study the virus</h2>Smith Collection/Gado/Getty ImagesLetters display a portion of the genetic sequence of the novel coronavirus, which originated in Wuhan, China.To verify if an illness is the new coronavirus, scientists must first gather viral samples from a patient by taking swabs of saliva or mucus from a sick person's nose and mouth, or a chunk of whatever phlegm the person might cough up. The mucus then gets shipped off (typically on ice pack) to a lab for testing. In the US, <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/lab/guidelines-clinical-specimens.html?CDC_AA_refVal=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cdc.gov%2Fcoronavirus%2F2019-ncov%2Fguidelines-clinical-specimens.html">tests are being done only at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention</a> (CDC) in Atlanta, with a <a href="http://csu-cvmbs.colostate.edu/Documents/vdl-lablines-volume-15-issue-01.pdf">reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction test</a> (RT-PCR), which can convert RNA into DNA, and amplify genetic sequences, making them easier to study and compare.In China, like in the US, virus samples were initially sent only to a Beijing lab for testing, but tests are now being run in Hubei province, where the Wuhan virus originated, <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-health-testing-insight/confusion-and-lost-time-how-testing-woes-slowed-chinas-coronavirus-response-idUSKBN1ZQ21K">Reuters reported</a>. Results from each test come back in 24 to 48 hours.Though the testing protocol and machinery is all very similar around the world, Drosten said not every test is exactly the same, and that diversity is a plus. Andreas Rentz/Getty ImagesA scientist operates a RT-PCR machine. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is a technique to amplify a single piece (or few copies of a piece) of DNA."The target regions on the genome of the new coronavirus, they are different," he said. "We want, actually, some diversity in test protocols. If we are in doubt about our test, or if there is something wrong with the test targets, the virus mutates or something, we could still switch to the test that another lab uses. <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/labs/virus/vssi/#/virus?SeqType_s=Nucleotide&amp;VirusLineage_ss=Wuhan%20seafood%20market%20pneumonia%20virus,%20taxid:2697049">These are all in the public domain</a>, and it's quite easy to switch."Drosten also said there is no chance of these tests misfiring, and telling someone they have the new coronavirus when they don't. "We've validated the test for exclusivity for the new virus," he said.In China, over 8,200 people have been diagnosed with the virus to date. (Chinese patients have said it's so hard to get a test there <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/wuhan-coronavirus-china-shortage-test-kits-lottery-2020-1">that successfully getting a spit kit is like winning the lottery</a>.) <h2>Unless you've recently been to China, or been around someone sick who's been in China in the past 14 days, your chances of contracting the illness are low</h2>So far, very few virus samples that have been tested in the US have come back positive for the novel coronavirus.The CDC has reported that 68 samples from US patients who thought they might have the coronavirus have come back negative. Only <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/wuhan-coronavirus-us-cases-health-risk-2020-1">6 cases in the US have turned up positive</a>: one patient in Washington, another in Arizona, two patients from California, and a couple in their 60s from Illinois. The husband of that pair is <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/us-person-to-person-spread-wuhan-coronavirus-2020-1">the first known case of human-to-human transmission in the US</a>. Authorities said he caught the virus from his wife, who'd recently been traveling in China."It's important to note that this spread was among two people who were in close contact for an extended period of time," Dr. Nancy Messonnier, director of the CDC's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, told reporters on Thursday. If you or someone you know has been traveling in China in the past two weeks, watch vigilantly for signs of fever, cough, and shortness of breath. Reuters/Thomas PeterNurses in protective gear talk to people in the reception area of the First People's Hospital in Yueyang, Hunan Province, China, January 28, 2020.Drosten doesn't anticipate that any other, more rapid forms of testing that don't require lab work will be dispatched in this outbreak."What we need is power to exclude, right? So we need a really sensitive test," he said.<ul class="read-more-links"><li>Read more:</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/us-person-to-person-spread-wuhan-coronavirus-2020-1">The Wuhan coronavirus has spread person-to-person in the US for the 1st time - to the husband of a woman who went to China</a></li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/china-virus-everything-we-know-deadly-2019-ncov-wuhan-spread-2020-1">The Wuhan coronavirus has killed 170 people and infected more than 8,200. Here's everything we know about the outbreak.</a></li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/wuhan-coronavirus-many-other-disease-outbreaks-to-come-2020-1">We're in an 'age of epidemics,' a scientist says. More diseases like the coronavirus will jump from animals to people.</a></li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/wuhan-virus">Click here for Business Insider's full coverage of the Wuhan coronavirus </a></li></ul> <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/boogers-snot-eat-nose-unhealthy-science-virus-bacteria-2019-1">There are serious health reasons why you shouldn't eat your boogers</a></h3>

There is only one way to know if you have the coronavirus, and it involves machines full of spit and mucus

<ul class="summary-list"><li>The German response to the <keyword id="1754604" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="coronavirus">coronavirus</keyword> has led the way in Europe and drawn praise around the world.</li><li>Its initial success in containing the outbreak was attributed in March to <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/germany-why-coronavirus-death-rate-lower-italy-spain-test-healthcare-2020-3?r=US&amp;IR=TIR=T">mass testing, swift lockdown, a robust healthcare system, and luck</a>.</li><li>But that success has continued into April and May, and the country is now gradually reopening with one of the lowest death rates in the world.</li><li>Regardless, the country remains cautious. The Bundestag on Thursday passed a new law mandating more testing and virus mapping, which it hopes will rid the outbreak for good.</li><li>The country had its critics along the way, but here's how it got in sight of the finish line.</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/?hprecirc-bullet">Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories</a>.</li></ul>On balance, <keyword id="87" type="COUNTRY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Germany">Germany</keyword> has dealt with its coronavirus outbreak much better than most nations around the world.The peak of its outbreak — the period marked by the highest numbers of new daily infections — came between March 26 and April 3, during which it maintained a death rate far below the likes of Spain and Italy.As <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/germany-why-coronavirus-death-rate-lower-italy-spain-test-healthcare-2020-3?r=US&amp;IR=TIR=T">Business Insider reported in late March</a>, this was attributed to an early lockdown, swift mass-testing drive, a well-oiled healthcare system, and clear government messaging. Seven weeks on — as the country starts to reopen — not much has changed.The reproduction number (R) — which indicates how many people the average person infects, and indicates how fast the virus is spreading — has wholly remained below 1, but for one <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/germany-reports-933-new-coronavirus-cases-considers-emergency-brake-2020-5">surge from 0.65 to 1.1</a> last weekend.But the country weathered the storm with minimal fuss, and its R rate <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/germany-coronavirus-cases-drop-after-spike-r0-down-as-reopens-2020-5">subsided</a> to 0.8 by Wednesday.<a href="https://www.zeit.de/wissen/gesundheit/coronavirus-echtzeit-karte-deutschland-landkreise-infektionen-ausbreitung"><div type="image" title="The sun sets behind the buildings of the banking district in Frankfurt, Germany, Saturday, May 9, 2020. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)" height="1865" width="3729" msid="75773088" hostid="261"></div></a>Authorities said the surge was caused by outbreaks in a few nursing homes and a factory. North Rhine-Westphalia, where the factory was located, reacted by <a href="https://www.thelocal.de/20200515/germany-to-ditch-quarantine-requirement-for-its-neighbours">briefly reimposing lockdown,</a> it ended on Friday."If one compares the German death rate with that of other countries, it becomes clear that the number of deaths in Germany has not increased as much as one might have feared," Die Zeit newspaper, whose <a href="https://www.zeit.de/wissen/gesundheit/coronavirus-echtzeit-karte-deutschland-landkreise-infektionen-ausbreitung">virus tracker</a> has become a go-to resource in Germany, <a href="https://www.zeit.de/wissen/gesundheit/coronavirus-echtzeit-karte-deutschland-landkreise-infektionen-ausbreitung">wrote on May 14.</a>Even so, the government is continuing to move against the virus with purpose.<h2>The Infection Protection Act</h2>On Thursday, the <a href="https://www.badische-zeitung.de/neues-infektionsschutzgesetz-soll-mehr-corona-tests-und-neue-meldepflichten-bringen--185590855.html">Bundestag passed the Infection Protection Act</a>, a set of precautions to help steer the country from danger as it begins returning to normal.<ul><li>Testing in care homes and hospitals will be drastically increased. Germany is already testing hundreds of thousands of people a week.</li><li>Health authorities must log every negative test result and people considered "cured," so the government can map the virus.</li><li>Nurses and care workers will be entitled to a 1,000-euro ($1,080) bonus. Before the crisis there was a shortage of these key workers due to low wages.</li><li>Health insurers must now pay for their customers' antibody tests even if they have no symptoms.</li><li>Health insurers must make flu vaccines readily available. As winter nears, the government wants to minimize the strain that flu patients place on health services.</li></ul><div type="image" title="germany coronavirus munich" height="1000" width="2000" msid="75773090" hostid="261"></div><h2>'We are seeing half-empty ICUs'</h2>In recent weeks, Germany kept testing people en masse, monitoring those who test positive, and kept intensive care units remained well under capacity.It allowed those in the most critical of conditions quick, unfettered access to life-saving apparatus like ventilators."We are seeing half-empty ICUs in Germany," the country's lead epidemiologist, Christian Drosten, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/germany-coronavirus-restrictions-so-effective-people-think-overreaction-2020-4">said</a> on April 26."This is because we started diagnostics early and on a broad scale, and we stopped the epidemic — that is, we brought the reproduction number below 1."Germany currently has the capacity to test around 838,000 samples for COVID-19 per week, <a href="https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-health-coronavirus-brazil/brazils-coronavirus-cases-pass-germanys-as-bolsonaro-fights-to-open-gyms-idUKKBN22O34D">Reuters reported on Tuesday</a>.<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/04/world/europe/germany-coronavirus-death-rate.html"></a>Those who test positive are supervised closely, even after they return to recover in their homes.In Heidelberg, southwestern Germany, medics were driving around the city checking in on those recently diagnosed with COVID-19, taking blood tests and checking to see if they had deteriorated, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/04/world/europe/germany-coronavirus-death-rate.html">The New York Times reported in April</a>.<h2>A lockdown so effective it almost backfired</h2>Drosten, who is director of Berlin's Institute of Virology, added he was concerned the lockdown had worked so well that some citizens didn't understand the dangers of the virus.Indeed, protests against the lockdown popped up across Germany on April 25. More have taken place since.While there was <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/opinion-coronavirus-lockdowns-lose-support-in-germany/a-53297044">strong support for social distancing</a>, and widespread acceptance of a lockdown, many Germans also felt that <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/how-are-germanys-coronavirus-protests-different/a-53443502">the state went too far</a> and was ruining the economy.Ten thousand anti-lockdown protesters are now expected to amass in Munich on May 16.<div type="image" title="2020 05 Police officers pepper spray protesters during a demonstration at Alexanderplatz, amid the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Berlin, Germany, May 9, 2020. REUTERS / Christian Mang CORONAVIRUS GERMANY.JPG" height="2043" width="4085" msid="75773093" hostid="261"></div>"For many Germans I'm the evil guy who is crippling the economy," Drosten said on April 26.<h2>Germany started off on the right foot</h2>While Spain and Italy saw death rates as high as 10% in late March, Germany's death rate around the same time — on March 27 — was 0.74%.Their success was attributed to<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/germany-why-coronavirus-death-rate-lower-italy-spain-test-healthcare-2020-3?r=US&amp;IR=TIR=T"> four factors:</a><ul><li>Testing: In March, between 120,000 and 500,000 people were tested each week, according to various reports. One month later, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/coronavirus-uk-government-to-miss-100000-daily-testing-covid-hancock-2020-4">the UK was yet to match the lower end of that estimate.</a></li><li>Preparedness: Germany spends more on healthcare per capita than most other European countries. Germany also has the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/germany-why-coronavirus-death-rate-lower-italy-spain-test-healthcare-2020-3?r=US&amp;IR=TIR=T">second-most critical-care beds per capita</a> in Europe.</li><li>Lockdown: Germany enforced a lockdown on March 22, relatively early in its outbreak. Other countries — like the US and UK — were <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/coronavirus-uk-former-science-chief-slow-response-cost-lives-2020-4">not so quick</a>, and <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/14/opinion/covid-social-distancing.html">paid the price.</a></li><li>Luck: As of March 27, the average age of a German infected with coronavirus was 46, whereas in Italy it was 63. Older people are on average far more likely to die from the virus.</li></ul><h2>Germany sees the light at the end of the tunnel</h2>Germany has started <a href="https://www.insider.com/german-school-tests-staff-and-teachers-coronavirus-twice-a-week-2020-5">reopening some schools</a> and allowed businesses and religious venues to open their doors. It also plans to reopen its borders to neighboring countries by June 15.<div type="image" title="germany coronavirus lockdown lifted" height="1000" width="2000" msid="75773095" hostid="261"></div>In some states, <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-52551808">museums and restaurants</a> have been open for more than a week.On Saturday, <a href="https://www.insider.com/bundesliga-everything-you-need-to-know-germany-football-coronavirus-2020-5">the Bundesliga soccer league will recommence</a>. It is the first major league in the world to do so, but for safety the stands will remain empty for the rest of the season, and team handshakes are banned.The Interior Ministry <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-coronavirus-health-germany-quarantine/germany-loosens-quarantine-restrictions-for-travellers-from-schengen-area-uk-idUSKBN22R1HG">said on Friday</a> that new arrivals from the EU, <a href="https://www.schengenvisainfo.com/schengen-visa-countries-list/">Schengen area</a>, and UK would not be forced into a mandatory two-week quarantine upon arrival. Those from other nations, like the US, would.As of Thursday, 7,917 people have died, with 174,824 confirmed cases. The death rate is at 4.5%.The rate has risen because it takes a number of weeks for those who eventually die from the the virus to be admitted to hospital, and then enter intensive care.Germany's death rate is still very low compared to other nations. It is 14% in the UK, 6% in the US, and 15% in France.<div type="image" title="BERLIN, GERMANY - MARCH 27: Medical volunteers dressed in protective suits, masks, gloves and goggles return to a medical practice after taking blood and throat mucous samples from visitors to test them for Covid-19 infection at a tent set up next door on March 27, 2020 in Berlin, Germany. Doctor Ulrike Lipke said she set up the tent as a way to offer testing yet avoid possible coronavirus infection inside the premises of her practice. Germany is seeking to radically ramp up its coronavirus testing capacity to up to 200,000 tests per day by the end of April as a means to allow people to return to work and hence get the crisis-stricken German economy back into gear. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images)" height="512" width="1024" msid="75773097" hostid="261"></div>On Wednesday, Chancellor Angela Merkel was asked how people should act now the lockdown was ending. "Social distancing, face masks, and respect," <a href="https://twitter.com/dw_politics/status/1260146519791067136">she said.</a>The country's troubles are far from over, though. <a href="https://t.co/ZrzqUd91hP?amp=1">It is already in a recession</a>, and warned late last month of the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/eurozone-gdp-shrinks-in-first-quarter-coronavirus-2020-4">worst economic slump in its history this year</a>."The German economy has been tip-toeing on the edge of recession since the beginning of 2019, but it can hide no longer," <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/live/2020/may/15/covid-19-coronavirus-eurozone-germany-economy-gdp-sterling-euro-dollar-ftse-markets-china-business-live">said</a> Claus Vistesen, chief eurozone economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics."The economy entered a technical recession at the start of the year, and this before the incoming collapse."The economy shrank 2.2% in the first three months of 2020, according to the German statistics agency<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2020/05/15/german-gdp-shrinks-by-2point2percent-in-the-first-quarter.html"> on Friday</a>.Nonetheless, when it comes to the coronavirus, Germany has been the envy of many other countries — particularly those that were slow to respond to their own outbreaks.As a source at the UK Department of Health <a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/coronavirus-38-days-when-britain-sleepwalked-into-disaster-hq3b9tlgh">told The Sunday Times</a> in April: "We could have been Germany."Read the original article on <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/coronavirus-germany-reopening-low-deaths-testing-lockdown-2020-5">Business Insider</a>

Germany is reopening with one of the lowest death rates in the world. Here's how it barely missed a trick as it fought the coronavirus.

Photo by Ronny Hartmann / AFP via GettyGerman doctor Michael Grosse takes a sample at a drive-thru testing point in Halle, Germany.<ul class="summary-list"><li>Germany's death rate from <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/china-virus-everything-we-know-deadly-2019-ncov-wuhan-spread-2020-1">the coronavirus</a> is substantially lower than that seen in Italy, Spain, and the UK.</li><li>49,603 Germans had tested positive for the coronavirus as of March 27, with 308 deaths. That gives a death rate of 0.62%. Spain's rate is 7.6% and Italy's is 10.2%.</li><li>This is because Germany is testing as many as 120,000 people a week, meaning the number of cases keeps rising while the number of deaths trickle in slowly.</li><li>Germany is also in an early stage of its outbreak, has excellent intensive care facilities, a young average age of infection, and a severe lockdown in place.</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/?hprecirc-bullet">Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories</a>.</li></ul><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/china-virus-everything-we-know-deadly-2019-ncov-wuhan-spread-2020-1">The coronavirus</a> is ravaging large parts of Europe, with Italy and Spain now the worst-hit countries in the world.But to the north, Germany appears to be bucking the trend.49,603 Germans had tested positive for the coronavirus as of March 27, with 308 deaths, according to the German magazine Zeit. That means Germany has a death rate of 0.62%.The German government officially puts the infection count at 42,288 with 253 deaths <a href="https://www.rki.de/DE/Content/InfAZ/N/Neuartiges_Coronavirus/Fallzahlen.html">as of 8 a.m. local time on March 27</a>. They are behind because each German state reports its own figures sporadically.That rate is far below that of Spain, which is at 7.6%, China at 4.05%, and Italy, which is at 10.2%.It suggests that Germany is doing something right that the others aren't. Here's why Germany seems to be on top of its coronavirus outbreak, and why its able to do things like <a href="https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-health-coronavirus-germany-italy/germany-takes-in-47-coronavirus-patients-from-italy-idUKKBN21D3AJ">take in coronavirus patients from its struggling neighbors</a>.<h2>Test, test, test</h2>The most important factor contributing to the low death rate is that Germany appears to be that it is testing far more people than any other European country.Scientists agree that a large number - probably a big majority - of all coronavirus cases never make it into the official figures because they are not severe enough for hospital treatment.The more widely a country tests, the more of these milder cases it will find.Since the most severe cases are almost always tested, the number of coronavirus deaths will likely stay the same.The net effect is that more testing leads to a lower-looking death rate.Christian Drosten, director of the institute of virology at Berlin's Charité hospital estimates that Germany is testing 120,000 people a week. The German doctors' association says at least 200,000 coronavirus tests were carried out in recent weeks, <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/coronavirus-germany-cases-death-toll-italy-spain-bavaria-lockdown-a9424591.html">The Independent reported</a>.REUTERS/Axel SchmidtEmployees in protective clothing do testings for the corona virus at a laboratory in Berlin, Germany, March 26, 2020."I believe that we are just testing much more than in other countries, and we are detecting our outbreak early," Drosten <a href="https://www.npr.org/2020/03/25/820595489/why-germanys-coronavirus-death-rate-is-far-lower-than-in-other-countries">told NPR.</a>"We have a culture here in Germany that is actually not supporting a centralized diagnostic system," Drosten said. "So Germany does not have a public health laboratory that would restrict other labs from doing the tests. So we had an open market from the beginning."As of Thursday, the UK had tested 104,866 people, <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-51943612">according to the BBC</a>, and the US had tested 519,338, <a href="https://covidtracking.com/us-daily/">according to the COVID Tracking Project</a>.Spain and Italy are also not testing anywhere near as much.Claudio Furlan/LaPresse via APA doctor holds aloft a coronavirus test.Spain distributed 650,000 testing kits, but <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/coronavirus-spain-says-rapid-tests-sent-from-china-missing-cases-2020-3">sent back a batch bought from China</a> on Thursday after they discovered they were only identifying 30% of positive cases. It is not yet known how many tests have been carried out there overall.The town of Vó in northern Italy <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/italy-provinces-aggressive-coronavirus-response-leads-to-fewer-cases-2020-3?r=US&amp;IR=T">quashed an outbreak after relentless testing</a>, but the country as a whole has not been able to replicate the phenomenon.On Friday, German newspaper <a href="https://www.sueddeutsche.de/politik/coronavirus-tests-strategie-1.4858950">Süeddeutsche Zeitung reported</a> that Germany's Interior Ministry wanted to increase the number of daily tests to 200,000.<h2>A sturdy healthcare system</h2>Germany is in good shape to fight its outbreak because it has a well-developed and comprehensive healthcare system, with both public and private options.Germany spends $4,714.26 per person each year on healthcare, <a href="https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SH.XPD.CHEX.PC.CD?most_recent_value_desc=true">according to World Bank data from 2016</a>. The figure is higher than most other nations.Germany has the second-most critical care beds per capita in Europe, <a href="https://gateway.euro.who.int/en/hfa-explorer/">according to data from European Health for All</a>. The beds are essential <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/video-tour-coronavirus-icu-ward-bergamo-italy-worst-apocalyptic-2020-3">when trying to battle severe cases of the coronavirus</a>.Germany has 621 beds per 100,000 people. Italy has 275, and Spain 293.REUTERS/Michele TantussiGerman chancellor Angela Merkel"In general, we have a rather good intensive care situation in Germany," German virologist Martin Stürmer <a href="https://www.vox.com/world/2020/3/27/21196246/coronavirus-germany-death-rate-covid-19-cases-italy-europe">told Vox.</a>"We have highly specialized doctors and facilities, and maybe that's part of the reason why our severely ill patients survive compared to those in other countries."<h2>Old people have by and large avoided infection. </h2>The average age of a German infected with coronavirus is 46, whereas in Italy it is 63, <a href="https://www.wired.co.uk/article/germany-coronavirus-death-rate">according to Wired. </a>Older people <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/who-protect-older-people-from-the-coronavirus-2020-3">are far more likely to die from the coronavirus,</a> and most deaths occur in <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/hypertension-diabetes-conditions-that-make-coronavirus-more-deadly-2020-3">those with preexisting health conditions</a>, which are <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/hypertension-diabetes-conditions-that-make-coronavirus-more-deadly-2020-3">more common in older people.</a>80% of all people infected in Germany are younger than 60, <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-03-24/coronavirus-less-deadly-in-germany-because-of-youthful-patients">the Robert Koch Institute said on Monday</a>, indicating that the outbreak hasn't yet taken hold in older people, where the risk of death is much higher.In Spain the number of affected over-60s is around 50%.<h2>It's early in the cycle</h2>Compared to countries like Spain and Italy, Germany is at an earlier stage of the outbreak."Germany's also a little bit earlier on in the process than Italy," Martin Hibberd, professor of emerging infectious diseases at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, told Wired. "It takes two or three weeks of intensive care before people often succumb to the disease." March 26 was Germany's worst day so far with 6,615 <a href="https://www.spiegel.de/wissenschaft/medizin/coronavirus-grosse-antikoerper-studie-soll-immunitaet-der-deutschen-feststellen-a-c8c64a33-5c0f-4630-bd73-48c17c1bad23?d=1585300132&amp;sara_ecid=soci_upd_wbMbjhOSvViISjc8RPU89NcCvtlFcJ">new cases reported</a>. It seems likely that the daily number of cases will continue to rise. Laura Lezza/Getty ImagesA worker sanitizes the Piazza dei Miracoli near to the Tower of Pisa in Pisa, Italy, on March 17 2020.Angela Merkel said on Thursday that it was too early to ease a lockdown that was put in place on Tuesday, <a href="https://twitter.com/dw_politics/status/1243452368517238784">according to German broadcaster Deutsche Welle.</a> The infection rate was still increasing, Merkel said, but was likely to subside in the first week of April."The death rate in Germany is likely to increase as more older people become infected", Keith Neal, emeritus professor of epidemiology of infectious diseases at the University of Nottingham, told Sky News."The true death rate is probably going to be in the order of 1%."<h2>It enforced a tough lockdown</h2>Germany, like many other countries, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/germany-ban-2-or-more-people-new-coronavirus-rules-2020-3?r=US&amp;IR=T">enforced severe lockdown regulations</a>, which began on March 24.Gatherings were limited to two people, unless they are all members of the same family isolating together.The fine for breaking the rules can be as much as €25,000 ($26,909.)<h2>Future tactics?</h2>On Friday, Germany's Interior Ministry floated the idea of tracking its citizens via their smartphones to see who came into contact with someone infected with the coronavirus, <a href="https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-health-coronavirus-germany/germany-looks-at-tracking-patients-to-rein-in-coronavirus-reports-idUKKBN21E16I">according to Reuters.</a>It's easy to speculate on Germany's success, but some scientists have said that, because the outbreak is unprecedented, the answer may not be clear for some time.Even some experts in German are arguing for caution."We don't know the reason for the lower death rate," Marieke Degen, deputy spokeswoman of the Robert Koch Institute told Vox.Do you have a personal experience with the coronavirus you'd like to share? Or a tip on how your town or community is handling the pandemic? Please email <a href="mailto:covidtips@businessinsider.com">covidtips@businessinsider.com</a> and tell us your story. <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/study-how-long-coronavirus-lasts-on-surfaces-stainless-steel-plastic-2020-3">How long the COVID-19 coronavirus lasts on everyday surfaces</a></h3>

Germany has a remarkably low coronavirus death rate - thanks largely to mass testing, but also culture, luck, and an impressive healthcare system

<ul class="summary-list"><li>The <keyword id="6354868" type="COUNTRY" weightage="60" keywordseo="UK">UK</keyword> government imposed harsher restrictions on millions of people this weekend, warning of a mutated <keyword id="1754604" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="coronavirus">coronavirus</keyword> strain that appears to infect people more easily.</li><li>Multiple countries also moved quickly to block travel from the UK, expressing concern over the new strain.</li><li>The government <a href="https://news.sky.com/story/covid-19-should-we-be-worried-about-the-new-coronavirus-mutation-12161566">said</a> the new strain could increase the country's R number by 0.4 and suggested that the strain was behind 59% of new cases in eastern England and 62% of new cases in London.</li><li>Experts say the situation is worrying and needs to be closely monitored, but they added that this strain didn't appear to be deadlier.</li><li>They also say it's likely that vaccines will still be effective against the new strain.</li></ul>The UK said it discovered a new, potentially more transmissible strain of the novel coronavirus, prompting the government to put millions of people under stricter lockdown measures for Christmas and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/covid-19-multiple-countries-close-borders-uk-fearing-new-strain-2020-12">a host of countries to block travel from the UK</a>.Matt Hancock, the UK's health minister, said a new variant of the virus that <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-55388846">might be up to 70% more transmissible</a> was "getting out of control."<div type="image" title="Matt Hancock" height="1000" width="1500" msid="79843997" hostid="261"></div>UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson also announced on Saturday that about 16 million people would be put under a new, stricter lockdown across southeastern England, including London.Soon after, a host of countries blocked travel from the UK. Some also decided to ban freight, which <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/dec/20/frances-covid-freight-ban-to-have-devastating-effect-on-uk-sector-warns">could seriously harm the UK supply chain</a>.Viruses are typically expected to mutate, and the variants aren't necessarily more harmful - they do not necessarily increase the risk to humans or threaten vaccines' effectiveness.<div type="image" title="uk coronavirus" height="1333" width="2000" msid="79844001" hostid="261"></div>With this latest development, experts are urging calm and cautioning that more evidence needs to be gathered to figure out exactly what's going on and what the new risks might be.<h2>What we know</h2>Hancock said that this strain, named B.1.1.7, appeared to be more transmissible than other mutations of the virus and that it appeared to have spread much faster across parts of England.Johnson also <a href="https://news.sky.com/story/covid-19-should-we-be-worried-about-the-new-coronavirus-mutation-12161566">said</a> that the new strain could increase the country's R number by 0.4. R is the average number of people who one infected person passes the virus to. An increase of 0.4 could determine whether an outbreak is contained or spreading rapidly.The government's figures <a href="https://news.sky.com/story/covid-19-should-we-be-worried-about-the-new-coronavirus-mutation-12161566">suggested</a> the new strain was behind 59% of new cases in eastern England and 62% of the new cases in London as of December 9, <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/health-coronavirus-britain-variant-detai-idUSL8N2IZ0H7">compared with</a> 28% in London three weeks earlier.The World Health Organization said the new variant had already been seen in the Netherlands, Denmark, and Australia - meaning other countries' efforts to seal off the UK may be of little benefit.<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/new-coronavirus-strain-uk-spread-experts-unsure-2020-12">As Insider previously reported</a>, the new variant includes a mutation in the virus' spike protein, which is what the virus uses to invade the body's cells. This means it might be easier for the virus to infect people.The new variant appears to have developed 23 mutations, <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/health-coronavirus-britain-variant-detai-idUSL8N2IZ0H7">UK health authorities said</a>.<div type="image" title="FILE PHOTO: The ultrastructural morphology exhibited by the 2019 Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV), which was identified as the cause of an outbreak of respiratory illness first detected in Wuhan, China, is seen in an illustration released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. January 29, 2020. Alissa Eckert, MS; Dan Higgins, MAM/CDC/Handout via REUTERS" height="2250" width="3375" msid="79844004" hostid="261"></div><h2>Previous lockdowns were insufficient</h2><a href="https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/12/mutant-coronavirus-united-kingdom-sets-alarms-its-importance-remains-unclear">According to Science magazine</a>, scientists believe the new strain could have emerged in a patient who was infected for a long time, allowing the virus to mutate in their body.Susan Hopkins, the head of Public Health England, <a href="https://news.sky.com/story/covid-19-should-we-be-worried-about-the-new-coronavirus-mutation-12161566">said</a> that the strain was first found in a coronavirus patient in September but that it didn't cause alarm because mutations of the virus were expected.But then cases rose rapidly in some areas despite lockdown measures.This graph shows how fast cases were rising in the areas where the new strain was most prevalent, compared with the rest of the UK, as of Saturday:<div type="image" title="uk new coronavirus strain" height="676" width="1200" msid="79844006" hostid="261"></div>Over the weekend, Johnson <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/dec/19/overcrowded-hospitals-exhausted-staff-and-a-new-threat-why-boris-johnson-had-to-act">said</a> he had been confused about why existing restrictions weren't slowing the virus' spread in Kent, a county in southeastern England where the new strain is thought to have emerged."It's not until yesterday, when we have seen this data on transmissibility, that we really got the answer that explains it," he said.<h2>Experts are urging calm</h2>Hancock said that while there wasn't any evidence that the strain was deadlier or more resistant to vaccines, it did seem to be "growing faster than the existing variants."Chris Whitty, England's chief medical officer, <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/health-55388846">said</a> the strain could be 70% more transmissible - a figure <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G3CT9N89L-c&amp;feature=youtu.beu.be">given</a> by Erik Volz from Imperial College London. Volz said that the situation needed to be monitored but that "it is really too early to tell."<div type="image" title="coronavirus cases uk" height="2295" width="3000" msid="79844013" hostid="261"></div>Many experts are urging caution.Christian Drosten, a virologist at Charité University Hospital in Berlin, <a href="https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/12/mutant-coronavirus-united-kingdom-sets-alarms-its-importance-remains-unclear">told Science</a> the UK government should not have cited the 70% figure. "There are too many unknowns to say something like that," Drosten said."The amount of evidence in the public domain is woefully inadequate to draw strong or firm opinions on whether the virus has truly increased transmission," Jonathan Ball, a virologist at the University of Nottingham, <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/health-55388846">told the BBC</a>.Muge Cevik, a scientific advisor to the British government, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/20/health/coronavirus-britain-variant.html?action=click&amp;module=Top%20Stories&amp;pgtype=HomepageHomepage">noted to The New York Times</a> that the 70% figure hadn't been confirmed in lab experiments, adding that the faster spread could be at least partially explained by people acting differently.Alan McNally, a professor of genomics at the University of Birmingham, <a href="https://www.sciencemediacentre.org/expert-reaction-to-the-new-variant-of-sars-cov-2/">said in a statement to the UK's Science Media Centre</a> that "it's too early to be worried or not by this new variant.""It is important to keep a calm and rational perspective on the strain as this is normal virus evolution and we expect new variants to come and go and emerge over time," he said.<div type="image" title="Boris Johnson" height="774" width="1200" msid="79844015" hostid="261"></div>But some experts said that taking big steps now instead of waiting for more information is the right call in case the new strain does pose a new risk."Laboratory experiments are required, but do you want to wait weeks or months [to see the results and take action to limit the spread]? Probably not in these circumstances," Nick Loman, a professor with the COVID-19 Genomics UK Consortium, <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/health-55388846">told the BBC</a>.<h2>It doesn't seem deadlier</h2>UK officials <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-55382212">have said</a> there's no evidence to suggest that the new variant is deadlier, though scientists in the UK and WHO are studying it.Experts agreed.Wendy Barclay, the head of the Department of Infectious Disease at Imperial College London, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/new-coronavirus-strain-uk-spread-experts-unsure-2020-12">said earlier this month</a> - before new data about transmission came out - that "there is no evidence that the newly reported variant results in a more severe disease."But Andrew Hayward, a professor of infectious-disease epidemiology at University College London and a member of the UK's Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/dec/20/fast-spreading-covid-variant-in-england-uk">told The Guardian</a> that if it has a greater ability to infect people, the virus is already deadlier."I think we already have enough information to know that this variant has the potential to cause a major further epidemic, worse than we had previously predicted," he said.All viruses mutate over time, and this isn't the first discovered variant of this virus.<a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-55388846">As the BBC noted</a>, the virus strain now seen in most parts of the world isn't the same as the one that was first detected in Wuhan, China.Some experts have said that <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/dec/20/fast-spreading-covid-variant-in-england-uk">more than 4,000 mutations</a> of the novel coronavirus have emerged but that the vast majority are insignificant in terms of how they affect humans and how we can fight them.<h2>Vaccines will likely still work</h2>Patrick Vallance, the UK government's chief scientific advisor, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/dec/19/overcrowded-hospitals-exhausted-staff-and-a-new-threat-why-boris-johnson-had-to-act">said on Saturday</a> that "our working assumption, from all of the scientists, is that the vaccine response should be adequate for this virus."Experts also said that while this mutation is unlikely to hinder the effectiveness of vaccines, more studies are needed.<div type="image" title="vaccine rollout in Uk Scotland coronavirus" height="1333" width="2000" msid="79844017" hostid="261"></div>Many added that it would take years of evolution for the virus to reach a stage where vaccines aren't effective.Jesse Bloom, an evolutionary biologist at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/20/health/coronavirus-britain-variant.html?action=click&amp;module=Top%20Stories&amp;pgtype=HomepageHomepage">told The Times</a> that "no one should worry that there is going to be a single catastrophic mutation that suddenly renders all immunity and antibodies useless.""It is going to be a process that occurs over the time scale of multiple years and requires the accumulation of multiple viral mutations," he said. "It's not going to be like an on-off switch."Ravi Gupta, a clinical microbiologist at the University of Cambridge, <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/health-55388846">told the BBC</a> that if the virus is allowed to keep spreading, new variants could bring it closer to the point where it has mutated too much for vaccines to work."If we let it add more mutations," Gupta said, "then you start worrying."

A new coronavirus strain surging to dominance in the UK appears to spread faster despite lockdowns, prompting panic and a wave of border closures

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="87" type="COUNTRY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Germany">Germany</keyword> has drawn praise from around the world for its quick and efficient <keyword id="1754604" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="coronavirus">coronavirus</keyword> response.</li><li>Nine people who are currently living there told Business Insider how they felt the country responded to the pandemic.</li><li>The majority said they were confident in the government handling of the virus and said they felt protected by the country's robust healthcare system.</li><li>Many also praised the calm and rational demeanor of Chancellor Angela Merkel, who has seen a significant increase in approval ratings since the pandemic.</li><li>However, others said that some German states are not prioritizing more essential aspects of society while reopening, choosing to resume the Bundesliga, the German football league, over pre-schools.</li></ul>It's the second weekend of May and Berlin is in full swing. Public parks are covered in picnic blankets and sunbathing locals, and the city's much-loved beer gardens are buzzing with people as they gather to drink and socialize in the hot afternoon sun.Sebastian Wenz, an accountant who lives in the capital, is also there, watching nearby television screens in anticipation as his home soccer team, Hertha BSC, returns to action for the first time <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/coronavirus-cases-maps-us-world-spread-symptoms-death-rate-2020-1?r=US&amp;IR=TIR=T">since the coronavirus outbreak.</a>"You wouldn't think that just seven weeks ago, Germany was going through a deadly pandemic," Wenz told Business Insider.Eight weeks from the height of its coronavirus outbreak, Europe's most populous nation has emerged relatively unscathed compared to the rest of the world.Germany's successful response to the coronavirus is attributed to key factors including an early lockdown, an extensive testing program, and a functioning healthcare system, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/coronavirus-germany-reopening-low-deaths-testing-lockdown-2020-5?r=US&amp;IR=TIR=T">Business Insider previously reported.</a>To date, <a href="https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/germany/">the country has seen more than 184,000 confirmed coronavirus cases, but only 8,736 deaths</a>. To put this into perspective, New York City alone, which has a tenth of Germany's population, has around double that death toll.<div type="image" title="germany lockdown" height="1018" width="1357" msid="76105992" hostid="261"></div>Unlike other European countries, including Spain or the United Kingdom, Germany managed to maintain its low death rate while still keeping lockdown measures relatively relaxed.Each of its 16 federal states implemented their own sets of lockdown rules, which varied in severity. But generally, people were permitted to leave their homes as often as they wanted, provided they respected social-distancing measures. Local state governments still banned public gatherings and closed schools, workplaces, and non-essential shops, but continued to <a href="https://www.zdf.de/nachrichten/politik/corona-merkel-geschaefte-schliessen-100.html">stress that it was not a complete "shutdown."</a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/photos-germany-lifts-coronavirus-lockdown-2020-5?r=US&amp;IR=TIR=T">Now, as the country reopens and life slowly returns to normal</a>, Germans reflected on how they think the country performed in the face of the pandemic.<h2>The government have things under control</h2>"In March it all happened very quickly, from one day to the next. But then it also ended really quickly and now we're just trying to get back to normal," said Wenz.The 35-year-old and his family are slipping back into their old routines. His 11-year-old son is back in school, his wife is working in the office three times a week, and he recently enjoyed a weekend excursion to a museum with his in-laws."I'm a very rational person, so I stayed calm throughout, although I think that's also because in general, the government seemed to have things under control," he added.<div type="image" title="Restaurant server visor Germany May 2020" height="1692" width="2256" msid="76105995" hostid="261"></div>Wenz is not the only one who feels this way.Sarah Reitz, a 29-year-old management consultant, who also works in the German capital, told Business Insider that the country's success was based upon clear and rational messaging people received from the government."Their overall strategy was to say: 'These are the rules, please stick to them. But also just consider what your needs are and that there are others more vulnerable than you. Use your common sense.' I really appreciated that because it didn't feel too restrictive but was clear at the same time," she said.Reitz also believes the government prevented a worse outbreak by going into lockdown relatively early, although notes that this wasn't an opinion shared by everyone. The nationwide lockdown was issued on March 22, although several states, including Bavaria, closed down earlier. "We have local governments who were doing their own thing. I think that was actually really effective," said Reitz.<h2>Angela Merkel sees revival in the polls</h2>But while the states gained praise during the pandemic, a lot of Germans acknowledged the deft national leadership of Chancellor Angela Merkel.Georgiana Ci, 28, who is originally from Romania but lives in Berlin, said: "I felt safe that I am in Germany. I felt safe every time Merkel was speaking on television.""I thought she made sense. I was listening to her German interviews which I usually wouldn't do. I at least felt that if something happens to me, that I would be taken care of," Ci added.<div type="image" title="angela merkel" height="1000" width="1333" msid="76105998" hostid="261"></div>During the crisis, Merkel gained <keyword id="6356001" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="international">international</keyword> recognition for being level-headed. As a former research scientist with a doctorate in quantum chemistry, the German chancellor was often seen on television breaking down statistics, explaining why certain measures were taken, and calling for national unity.<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/16/angela-merkel-draws-on-science-background-in-covid-19-explainer-lockdown-exit">One video which showed Merkel describing the scientific basis behind her lockdown strategy</a> during a press conference on April 16, was shared thousands of times on social media.The chancellor has been rewarded with her highest approval ratings since July 2017, <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/germans-rally-behind-merkel-governments-coronavirus-response/a-53366507">according to a poll cited in Deutsche Welle.</a> Her party, the Christian Democratic Union Party (CDU), shared the success, with their approval rating up 5% from last month.<h2>The German healthcare system has triumphed</h2>Every single person Business Insider spoke to also said they were incredibly impressed by and grateful for <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/germany-why-coronavirus-death-rate-lower-italy-spain-test-healthcare-2020-3?r=US&amp;IR=TIR=T">Germany's healthcare system</a>. For many, it is the crucial factor in blunting the impact of the coronavirus.Dagmar, 61, a relaxation therapist from Hennef, a city just outside Bonn, said: "I was positively surprised by our healthcare system. It is strong and functions well. It's something Germans can do very well."Tamara Goldfarb, 25, a medical student who lives in Nürnberg, agreed."I don't think we should underestimate how rich and resourceful Germany is," Goldfarb said.The 25-year-old adds that her mother, who works in a lab in a hospital in nearby Bamberg, hasn't been very busy for weeks."The big state hospitals prepared themselves so much. Thousands of operations were canceled, they set aside space for coronavirus patients, and things were fully prepared for a medical emergency. But until now, there hasn't been one," she said.<div type="image" title="hamburg germany coronavirus" height="1000" width="1333" msid="76106001" hostid="261"></div>Germany's spending on healthcare per capita is among the highest in the world and it has the second most critical-care beds per capita in Europe, Business Insider reported.From the very beginning, the country took the threat of <keyword id="8763838" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="covid-19">COVID-19</keyword> seriously. By the time it recorded its first coronavirus case in February, laboratories across the country had built up a stock of test kits, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/04/world/europe/germany-coronavirus-death-rate.html">The New York Times reported.</a> In the same week, a national crisis team was formed and ICU capacity increased by 12,000 to 40,000 beds.On April 26, the country's lead epidemiologist, Christian Drosten <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/26/virologist-christian-drosten-germany-coronavirus-expert-interview">told The Guardian</a>: "We are seeing half-empty ICUs in Germany. This is because we started diagnostics early and on a broad scale, and we stopped the epidemic — that is, we brought the reproduction number below 1."Germany's rigorous testing system garnered praise from around the world. With a population of around 83 million, the country can perform up to one million diagnostic COVID-19 tests a day."We trust our healthcare system. So if I feel horrible and my doctor tells me to stay at home, I'm going to stay home," said Goldfarb.<h2>"When there is a rule, Germans follow it."</h2>The medical student's view reflects a cultural norm that also played an important role in the country's success: Germans listen to the rules.<div type="image" title="Bundesliga football league coach interview Germany May 2020" height="1600" width="2133" msid="76106003" hostid="261"></div>Matthias Veith, 31, who works in insurance in Düsseldorf, said: "Maybe this is a more cultural thing, but when there is a rule, Germans follow it. This might be a stereotype, but it's really true.""During the lockdown, it worked. Even now, it works. When you go to the shop, everyone is wearing a mask and following the rules," he added.Veith recalls how at the peak of the pandemic, the city was deserted despite relatively relaxed lockdown restrictions."There was a time when that attitude almost backfired, because people who should have gone to the hospital for other reasons, didn't show up because they knew the priority was for coronavirus patients," Veith said.But as Germany has seen a decline in cases, people are not afraid to reenter society.Bettina von Hengstenberg, 72, who lives in Hamburg, says that even elderly people are starting to socialize again, although they remain cautious."I'm not scared to leave the house anymore, but I think that's because the numbers in Hamburg are so low. And I know I will be okay because I follow the rules. I have a mask, I keep my distance, and I have my hand sanitizer with me at all times," she said."I asked my neighbor for four weeks to go to the supermarket for me. But after four weeks, I put my mask on and said: 'Right, I'm going to go now because I can no longer be afraid," von Hengstenberg added.<div type="image" title="bavaria beer garden germany coronavirus" height="1085" width="1447" msid="76106005" hostid="261"></div>The one thing that does worry Germans, however, is the economy. By mid-May, the coronavirus had pushed Germany into a recession, following the sharpest economic slump since the 2008 financial crisis, <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-52673727">the BBC reported.</a>"The German economy has been tip-toeing on the edge of recession since the beginning of 2019, but it can hide no longer," <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/live/2020/may/15/covid-19-coronavirus-eurozone-germany-economy-gdp-sterling-euro-dollar-ftse-markets-china-business-live">said</a> Claus Vistesen, chief eurozone economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics. "[It] entered a technical recession at the start of the year, and this before the incoming collapse."<h2>"Their priorities are wrong"</h2>But while most people Business Insider spoke to support the reopening of the country, some were wary it was premature and could trigger a second wave of infection.Sebastian Mihãilã, 27, who lives in Berlin, said: "I totally disagree with opening bars and pubs. I don't mind at all if there are five people in the park who are sitting in a circle, 2-meters apart, and just talk."But I do mind when I see these kinds of gatherings in front of a bar where people also get drunk and within two hours are all over each other, dancing and hugging. It's pointless," he added.<div type="image" title="germany protest" height="946" width="1262" msid="76106007" hostid="261"></div>Stephan Brunnhuber, 29, who works as an accountant in Munich, recently returned to the city after waiting out the pandemic with his parents in the countryside. The southern state recorded the first coronavirus case in the country and, unlike other places, had a much stricter lockdown."I think it's good that we're reopening but in other cases, I think it's still too soon. For example, in Bavaria, they reopened the beer garden before kindergarten. I think sometimes it makes sense but in this case, it doesn't. Their priorities are wrong," he said.<a href="https://www.businessinsider.sg/bundesliga-everything-you-need-to-know-germany-football-coronavirus-2020-5">The resumption of the Bundesliga, Germany's soccer league, on May 16, </a>also sparked a lot of debate in the country."The other leagues and seasons have been canceled. Why them? It's so risky," Brunnhuber said.While there was widespread acceptance of a lockdown, some Germans also felt that the<a href="https://www.dw.com/en/how-are-germanys-coronavirus-protests-different/a-53443502"> country overreacted</a>. In the last few weeks, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/germany-becomes-forefront-of-a-global-movement-of-anti-vaxxers-2020-5?r=US&amp;IR=TIR=T">the country has seen an increase in anti-lockdown protests</a>, which have unexpectedly become the forefront of a global anti-vaxxer movement."The protests are embarrassing. I feel angry when I see them because the only thing we are expected to do is to watch out for each other. It makes me wonder where the normal people are in the world," said Goldfarb, the medical student from Nürnberg.Since the peak of the outbreak, the country has had a lot of time to reflect. Although it has been praised for its efficient coronavirus response, the experience has still left a significant impact on people's lives. They are increasingly aware that things won't go back to normal — at least for a while.Goldfarb reflected: "I think there's a big chance in this whole situation to evaluate our lives, so I do think things will change a little bit, and I hope that we won't just go back to normal because that would mean we learned nothing from this."

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