Germany’s success is instructive for Bangladesh

Coronavirus-related deaths and conditions

The death toll from the corona virus in the country stands at about 6,000 to date, and Johns Hopkins University reports that it is among the countries with the highest number of deaths from Covid-19.

While all countries in the world, especially European countries, are struggling to reduce the incidence of corona, Germany has seen some success. To date, the total number of infected people in Germany is over one and a half million, but more than one hundred and ten thousand people have already recovered and returned home, the highest number in any country in the world and, conversely, only about six thousand people have died, less than any other country. The number of active cases is also declining and the daily growth rate is also declining at a significant rate.

Gradual easing of restrictions and warnings The
German federal and state governments have recently relaxed social distance restrictions imposed to combat Covid-19, allowing the reopening of small shops of 600 square meters. Across Germany, governments are now slowly opening up larger markets or offices. However, Merkel warned that “this interim achievement is very fragile, as if we are on thin ice.”

After easing some restrictions since April 20, many people have started gathering at shopping malls this week. In this context, leading German virologists have warned against such complacency. Merkel has now announced that wearing face masks will be mandatory on public transport and in all 16 German states from the 26th. He urged us not to waste what we have achieved.

However, Merkel told the German parliament that the country was still “at the beginning” of the corona virus crisis and would have to live with the virus for a long time. He added, ‘No one likes to hear this, but it is true that we have not yet reached the peak of this crisis’. Chancellor Angela Merkel warns that the possibility of easing lockdown sanctions in any way will be gradual, and that Germany’s success in reducing the spread of the corona virus is unsustainable and there is a high risk of it rising again. Currently in Germany, a person infected with the corona virus can infect nine to nine people on paper (which was zero point seven when the lockdown was relaxed), meaning that the average rate of infection is about 1: 1. Keeping this number below one seems to be the main challenge for German researchers and policymakers. As this rate decreases, The situation will improve as much. In some areas this rate is still more than one. Especially where the infection is spreading at a high rate in old age homes or any other accommodation, there is no benefit in complying with the current health rules. In this situation, the government thinks that there is no time to relax the regulations until the number of infections per day comes down to several hundred.

On the other hand, if the corona virus spreads like an epidemic in the second phase, the government is also preparing for it. Government hospitals across Germany are now being asked to have emergency beds and doctor nurses ready. It has been said that from now on, the disease will spread again due to the gradual relaxation of everything, so that everything is ready from now on. Already 13,000 beds have been set aside across Germany. (Source: German newspaper). He is also working to make Berlin’s “Messe Berlin” the emergency hospital of the future. While the number of new infections in Germany is declining, other countries can learn from the way they are preparing for the future.

The attitude of having to live with Corona for a long time with the preparation 
Several countries, including Germany, have stated that the possibility of coming up with a vaccine or medical procedure at any time of the next year is very ambitious. So, we have to be realistic about this and rely on other social systems. Tests of the Covid-19 vaccine on humans began last Thursday in the United Kingdom. However, it is certain that any kind of normalcy will not return until a vaccine is available for the general public and preparations have to be made to survive with this virus.

Ways to Relax or Eliminate Lockdown: Digital Contact Tracing App?
Whether a person in the vicinity is infected with Kovid-19 disease, where the infected person went and who came in contact with him can be known through the contact tracing app. Similar apps were used to prevent the Ebola epidemic. If someone is infected with the corona virus, you can send a signal to warn people who come in contact with it. This will allow the person to be careful not to test the corona or stay in isolation.

South Korea, Iran, Israel, Singapore, Taiwan, Italy, Belgium and Austria, including Germany, are already using it. However, as the culture of personal privacy is very important in Germany, the government is working to make it more advanced and to create special apps for contact tracing using Bluetooth on smartphones. Apple and Google are also working on this and are going to add the app to their operating systems. Using this technology will not require location information. As a result, personal security will not be compromised. However, if the use of this app is limited to a small number of people, no benefits will be available. Corona can only be stopped if a large number of people use the app. But Bangladesh can ask for Germany’s help in this matter.

How is it possible to achieve this success?
There are about thirty ICU beds for every one lakh people here, which is the highest in Europe. Italy has the second highest number of ICU beds, which is only twelve and a half for every one lakh. Despite improved health care, higher health insurance coverage and more skilled doctors, on March 11, Merkel expressed concern that 60-70 percent of Germans could be affected by corona and called on everyone to be vigilant and panic. He said Germany and the world had never been in a bigger crisis since World War II. He has got a bunch of dedicated cabinet colleagues. He is constantly consulting with the relevant science research institutes and universities. Vaccine work is also underway, human trials have also begun. Germany, meanwhile, is at the stage of the Corona’s ‘Second Most Safeest Country in the World’. Without going into a severe lockdown like other countries, keeping the wheel of the economy in motion,

Not to mention the leader of this success, Angela Merkel. Born in Hamburg in 1954, Merkel has been Germany’s chancellor since 2005, the longest-serving head of government in the European Union. In the last 15 years, she has been named the most powerful woman in the world. Dr. Merkel, who has a PhD in physical chemistry and has been working as a researcher in related fields since the beginning of her career, has seen the effective implementation of her knowledge of science, disaster management and visionary leadership skills in dealing with this catastrophe.

Author: Doctorate in Development Planning from the University of Dortmund, Germany. Deputy Head of the Ministry of Planning, Government of Bangladesh; He is currently working in the United Nations Development Program in Bangladesh.