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How Germany is winning battle against the coronavirus outbreak

WION Web Team
New Delhi, Delhi, IndiaEdited By: Shivani KumarUpdated: Mar 31, 2020, 11:23 PM IST
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File photo. Photograph:(AFP)

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The country has reversed the pandemic trend in the continent.

Germany has emerged as the light at the end of the tunnel as the coronavirus pandemic has pushed Europe into dark times.

The country has reversed the pandemic trend in the continent.

It has checked the number of deaths and is now holding a torch of hope for its neighbours.

Here is how Germany is winning the battle against the coronavirus outbreak.

In its COVID-19 fight, Germany has chosen two very effective weapons, testing and quarantining.

Both weapons have shown remarkable results for the country and made it buck Europe's trend.

As per the latest numbers, Germany has over 67,000 COVID-19 cases. While one of the worst affected Italy has 101,739 cases.

Another worst-affected, Spain has more than 94,000 reports of coronavirus infection. In France, the active cases exceed 44,000.

Now, the death toll. The numbers are in thousands for all of Germany's neighbours as Italy alone has more than 11,500 deaths.

But in Germany, the country has just 651 deaths. While the number is not small, but when compared to active cases, and the deaths in neighbouring countries, Germany sure is doing something right.

So what is Germany doing?

 According to reports, Germany is carrying out 300,000 to 500,000 tests a week which highest in comparison to any other European nation.

Germany is aiming to take his number further while to test at least 200,000 samples every day.

Those who test positive are being isolated immediately.

Germany is also planning to use cell phone tracking.

It wants to use smartphone location data to track a patient's recent movements and identify those who came in contact with the patient.

Germany also has a well-equipped health care system.

It has 25,000 ICU beds equipped with ventilators, which is not a bad number for a country of 8.28 crore people.

There's another reason for Germany's low mortality rate.

Virologists say the country got more time to prepare for the outbreak.

"Germany was a bit lucky on one hand and Italy very unlucky that the coronavirus was there before it reached Germany, obviously, and that we could learn from China and Italy. So we had more time to act," said Dr Rolf Kaier, Virologist in the University of Cologne.

As Europe approaches its coronavirus peak, Germany is rooting for the South Korean model of testing and quarantining and so far it seems to be working.