Schools are closing across the country, sports matchups have been suspended and almost everything is canceled. But some say Germany's preventative measures aren't enough to stop the spread of the virus.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/M. Schreiber
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Email after email rolls in. The first is from your employer, canceling all meetings for the next few weeks. Then one from a concert organizer, announcing that your favorite artist won't perform on the weekend. Then your parents get in touch, postponing their visit with the grandchildren — all taking precautions to stem the spread of coronavirus.
This glimpse of an email inbox is probably familiar to many by now. In Germany, as in other parts of Europe, public life is slowly grinding to a halt. Teams in the Bundesliga, Germany's football league, first played in empty stadiums and then postponed games, playgrounds are deserted and all of a sudden there's a lot more legroom on commuter trains and in workplace cafeterias. Most states have ordered schools and kindergartens to suspend classes as of next week, and Berlin's mayor has announced that all bars must close. It seems only a matter of time before more restaurants and cinemas follow suit, as they did in Italy.
How social distancing saves lives
"We now know very well that in the current phase of the pandemic we have to cut off practically all social contact if we want to have any chance of keeping the number of infected people as low as possible," said Patrick Larscheid, the public health officer for the district of Berlin-Reinickendorf. He has called on the Berlin senate to take more decisive steps against the spread of COVID-19, the disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, saying public life must be restricted as much as possible to protect the population.
The decision to cancel events of more than 1,000 people doesn't go far enough, Larscheid said. Any place where people gather must be shut down. "Otherwise we won't be able to control [the outbreak] anymore," he said. Social contact — which has always been one of the cornerstones of well-being — is now considered a threat. With the virus transmitted through person-to-person contact, proximity to others can cause serious illness.
Too little, too late for Italy
Will we soon see a situation similar to Italy play out in Germany? As a measure to stop the spread of the virus, all shops in Italy except pharmacies and supermarkets are closed for the time being — which means bars, restaurants and even hairdressers have closed their doors.
"Only a few days ago I asked you to change your habits and stay home," said Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte in a video message on Wednesday evening. "I was aware that this was a first step and would not be the last. It's time to take another step."
In other words, public life in Italy has been brought to a complete standstill. Germany is inching closer to this scenario. On March 3, when virologist Alexander Kekulé pleaded to keep everyone at home for two weeks — in order to contain the epidemic in its early stages by interrupting the chains of infection — the scientist was laughed at by many.
Karl-Josef Laumann, the health minister of North Rhine-Westphalia — the state most affected by the outbreak — responded by saying that politicians should not take measures "which are disproportionate and which therefore cause hysteria." A few days later, only 40 kilometers (25 miles) from the city of Heinsberg, the most severely affected coronavirus hotspot in Germany, Borussia Mönchengladbach and Borussia Dortmund played a soccer match in front of more than 50,000 spectators.
Coronavirus reality is a moving target
In a matter of just a few days, the situation had changed entirely, and sporting events played before an audience became practically unthinkable. And we're no longer talking about blowing things out of proportion. On March 11, also in Mönchengladbach, the first ghost game without spectators took place against FC Cologne. Meanwhile, the German ice hockey league has cut its season short, and even the Bundesliga has now called off games until further notice.
These days, German moviegoers leave a seat free between them, though many are avoiding the cinema altogether for fear of infection. Schools are shuttering, and the state of Baden-Württemberg has postponed the start of the summer semester. Cultural events — like the traditional Beethoven Festival in Bonn or the Latin America-Caribbean Week in Berlin — are being canceled, as are numerous trade fairs. Public life is being shut down, but it's still happening in slow motion.
How is coronavirus affecting life in Germany?
With thousands of confirmed cases of the COVID-19 virus in Germany, the daily routine for many has been upended. From football to flights, car manufacturing to culture, DW looks at life amid the outbreak.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/F. Rumpenhorst
Food donations drop
Panic-buying has left empty shelves in supermarkets — and food banks. With Germans snapping up canned goods and toilet paper to weather the outbreak, stores have fewer supplies left over to donate to the needy, said Jochen Brühl, head of Tafel Deutschland, which supports more than 1.5 million people with surplus groceries and other donations. Brühl encouraged those who had overreacted to donate.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/G. Matzka
Bundesliga suspended
After playing one match behind closed doors, the Bundesliga has suspended its season until at least April 2. The Germany football league had considered playing matches behind closed doors until Paderborn's coach Steffen Baumgart and defender Luca Kilian tested positive for COVID-19.
Image: picture alliance/dpa/O. Berg
Cultural cancellations
Cultural life has also taken a hit, with major fairs and trade shows canceled or postponed. Among the casualties were the Leipzig Book Fair and the Musikmesse Frankfurt, Europe's biggest music trade fair. Numerous clubs, galleries and museums have closed across the country, and the gala award show for the annual German film and television award, the Goldene Kamera, has been moved to November.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/J. Woitas
Not the 'Wuhan flu'
The Chinese origin of the virus has led to an increase in xenophobic sentiment in the places worst hit by the outbreak. Asian restaurants and stores — not just Chinese — have reported empty tables in countries hard hit by the pandemic, and people with Asian features have experienced discrimination. At a recent Bundesliga game in Leipzig, a group of Japanese fans was ejected from the stadium.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/A. Solaro
Flights grounded
German airline Lufthansa has massively reduced its flight capacity as business and personal travel is cut back. The flagship carrier is now seeking state aid, according to a report from Germany business newspaper Handelsblatt. Lufthansa CEO Carsten Spohr will be attending a meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, according to government sources.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/M. Kusch
Car production crippled
Car plants in China have been shut down since January, and major German automakers like Volkswagen and Daimler have said both sales and production have been hit by the epidemic. And with many automakers sourcing electric car parts from China, work at plants in Germany has also hit a stumbling block. Berlin has said it plans to financially support companies suffering coronavirus losses.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Images/J. Meyer
Fewer tourists
"The consequences for the German tourism sector are serious," warned Guido Zöllick, head of the German Hotel and Restaurant Association. Already by the second week of March, 76.1% of members had reported a sharp decrease in bookings and a drop in revenue. The German parliament has banned tourists from visiting the glass dome of the Reichstag building until further notice.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/S. Wurtscheid
Border checks
In an effort to prevent further spread, Germany has closed its borders with France, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Austria and Denmark. Authorities in Poland and the Czech Republic had already begun spot checks, measuring the temperature of travelers crossing main road borders out of Germany.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/A. Weigel
School closures
Preschools and primary schools across Germany have shut. The closures have affected more than 2.2 million children up to age 16 countrywide, according to Germany's Federal Statistical Office. German television stations have adjusted their programming in response to the school closures.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/C. Seidel
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Are these measures enough?
Passenger numbers at the Frankfurt airport fell by 14.5% in the last week of February. The taxi industry is reporting revenue losses of up to 40% — a loss they're trying to make up for by offering deep discounts to people with annual or monthly public transit passes. To take the bus in Berlin, you may only board using the back entrance, so as not to infect the driver. And cleaning staff are working overtime: Long-distance trains will now be cleaned every two hours instead of every four, and doors, handholds and luggage racks are being thoroughly disinfected.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the head of the World Health Organization, has accused several countries of insufficient measures to contain the coronavirus pandemic. "We are deeply concerned that some countries are not approaching this threat with the level of political commitment needed to control it," the director-general said in Geneva on Thursday. The question of which countries he was referring to remained unanswered — but it's very possible that Germany could have been counted among them.
Coronavirus: Timeline of the global spread of COVID-19
Since the first cases were confirmed in December 2019, the flu-like COVID-19 virus exploded into a global pandemic, killing tens of thousands of people and infecting around 800,000. Scientists scramble for a vaccine.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/SOPA Images/A. Marzo
Pneumonia-like virus hits Wuhan
On December 31, 2019, China notifies the World Health Organization of a string of respiratory infections in the city of Wuhan, home to some 11 million people. The root virus is unknown and disease experts around the world begin working to identify it. The strain is traced to a seafood market in the city, which is quickly shut down. Some 40 people are initially reported to be infected.
Image: Imago Images/UPI Photo/S. Shaver
First death in China
On January 11, China announces the first death from the coronavirus — a 61-year-old man, who had shopped at the Wuhan market, dies from complications with pneumonia. Like SARS and the common cold, scientists identified that the new virus is in the coronavirus family. It is temporarily named 2019-nCoV. Symptoms include fever, coughing, difficulty breathing, and pneumonia.
Image: Reuters/Str
Virus reaches neighboring countries
In the following days, countries such as Thailand and Japan begin to report cases of infections in people who had visited the same Wuhan market. In China, a second fatality is confirmed in the city. By January 20, three people have died in China and more than 200 are infected.
Image: Reuters/Kim Kyung-Hoon
Millions under lockdown
China places Wuhan on quarantine on January 23 in an attempt to limit the spread of the virus. Transportation is suspended and workers attempt to quickly build a new hospital to treat infected patients, which total over 830 by January 24, as the death toll climbs to 26. Officials eventually extend the lockdown to 13 other cities, affecting at least 36 million people.
Image: AFP/STR
A global health emergency?
More and more cases are confirmed outside of China, including in South Korea, the US, Nepal, Thailand, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia and Taiwan. As the number of infections rises, the World Health Organization on January 23 determines that it's "too early" to declare a global public health emergency.
Image: Getty Images/X. Chu
Coronavirus reaches Europe
On January 24, French authorities confirm three cases of the new coronavirus within its borders, marking the disease's first appearance in Europe. Hours later, Australia confirms four people have been infected with the respiratory virus.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/S. Mortagne
First cases confirmed in Germany
On January 27, Germany announces its first known case of the virus — a 33-year-old in Bavaria who contracted it during a workplace training with a visiting Chinese colleague. He is put under quarantine and observation at a Munich hospital. The following day, three of his colleagues are confirmed infected. The death toll in China reaches 132, with around 6,000 infected worldwide.
Image: Reuters/A. Uyanik
WHO declares global health emergency
On January 30, the UN's World Health Organization (WHO) declares coronavirus a public health emergency of international concern in a bid to protect countries with "weaker health systems." However, WHO Secretary-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus does not recommend trade and travel restrictions, saying these would be "an unnecessary disruption."
Image: picture-alliance/KEYSTONE/J.-C. Bott
First death outside China
The first death linked to the novel coronavirus outside of China is reported in the Philippines on February 2. A 44-year-old Chinese man had traveled from Wuhan to Manila before falling ill and being taken to hospital, where he later died of pneumonia.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/T. Aljibe
Bad ending to a cruise
Also on February 3, the cruise ship Diamond Princess is quarantined off Yokohama in Japan after cases of the new coronavirus were found on board. As of February 17, the number of people infected has grown to more than 450, the largest cluster of cases outside of China. Several of the 3,700 passengers and crew onboard the ship are being or have been flown back to their home countries.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/kyodo
Italy under quarantine
Cases in Italy rise dramatically, with 77 deaths and thousands of confirmed cases by March 3. Many countries instigate travel restrictions to northern Italy and tourist numbers plummet. On March 8, the Italian government put the entire Lombardy region into quarantine, affecting 16 million people. March 10 sees 168 fatalities in Italy, the highest in a single day.
Image: Reuters/R. Casilli
Economic woes
European and US stock markets slump on March 6, leading to the worst week since the 2008 financial crisis. The effect on global business has been significant, with many companies reporting losses and the tourism industry and airlines badly hit. The EU pledge €7.5 billion ($8.4 billion) on March 10 in an investment fund to try to stop the Eurozone falling into a recession.
Image: picture-alliance/Jiji Press/M. Taguchi
WHO declares outbreak as pandemic
As worldwide cases top 127,000 and deaths pass 4,700, the World Health Organization designates the global outbreak as a "pandemic" on March 11. US President Donald Trump announces a travel restriction on people coming from the Schengen Zone in Europe, annoying the EU. German Chancellor Angela Merkel announces that in Germany, 70% of the population could get the virus.
Image: picture-alliance/Photoshot
Public life on hold in Europe
On March 14, Spain joins Italy in imposing a near-total nationwide lockdown to prevent the virus spreading. The population of 46 million is told not to leave their homes unless for essential tasks. In France, cafés, restaurants and non-essential shops are closed as of March 15. Many public events in Germany are cancelled and schools close.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/AAB. Akbulut
International travel severely restricted
As of March 15, many countries impose strict travel bans or restrictions in an attempt to stop the spread of Covid-19. For example, New Zealand and Australia require all international passengers to self-isolate for 14 days after arrival in the country. The US extends a European travel ban to include the United Kingdom and Ireland.
Image: picture-alliance/Photoshot
Germany imposes partial lockdown
In a landmark televised address German Chancellor Angela Merkel announces far-reaching restrictions on everyday life on March 22, banning meetings between more than two people not from the same household outside of the workplace. The country has a surprisingly low death rate, a phenomenon attributed to a high level of testing, and a high number of intensive care beds.
Image: picture-alliance/EibnerT. Hahn
Virus strikes at top as UK locks down
On March 23rd Britain becomes the latest country to impose restrictions on personal freedoms, with people only allowed to leave their homes in a limited number of circumstances. Prime Minister Boris Johnson is diagnosed with the viruson March 27, as well as heir to the throne Prince Charles on March 25. Meanwhile, there are complaints that not everyone is taking social distancing seriously.
Image: picture-alliance/R. Pinney
Grim milestone for the US
On March 27 the US overtakes China in terms of the number of people infected, making it the country with the most cases of COVID-19. This came as President Donald Trump claimed that the nation would get back to work "pretty quickly." At the same time, it emerged that more than 3 million Americans had lost their jobs due to the pandemic. New York is worst-hit, with a hospital ship sent to help out.
Image: picture-alliance/Photoshot/J. Fischer
Spain's surging death toll
Spain also overtakes China in the number of COVID-19 cases on March 30, as the government toughens the severity of its lockdown. All non-essential activities are halted. Only Italy has a higher death toll than Spain. Most affected is the capital, Madrid. With funeral services overwhelmed, officials turn the Palacio de Hielo ice skating rink into a temporary morgue.
Image: picture-alliance/Geisler-Fotopress
More than a million
On April 2nd the Johns Hopkins University announced on Thursday that there were more than a million confirmed coronavirus cases around the world. The US is the most affected with three times the number than China, where the virus emerged in December. Over 50.000 people have died — and the outlook remains grim.
Image: Reuters/J. Redmond
UK PM Boris Johnson hospitalized
The 55-year-old was admitted to the intensive care unit at London's St Thomas hospital on Monday evening (6.4.) and was given oxygen treatment after his condition worsened. He had been diagnosed with COVID-19 on March 27.
