Legal doctor complains: “Everyone thinks: Killer virus!”
The Hamburg medical examiner Klaus Püschel criticizes the public corona discussions. “As a society, we focus on the dead in such a way that everyone becomes afraid. Everyone thinks: Killer virus !, they read the bare numbers, over 8,000 dead, and think: Next time it is my turn, ”he tells Die Zeit. He is particularly bothered by how senior citizens are treated. “Old people need their families. Right at her bed, present, especially the seriously ill! ”At the same time, Püschel emphasizes that in his eyes the protection of the elderly is not above the interests of others. “You have to put that in the right relation. From a medical point of view, too, it is doubtful that everyone wants to be saved. ”Püschel has so far autopsied all of the 200 or so Hamburg dead people infected with Sars-CoV-2. Without exception, they have had serious previous illnesses that would have severely limited their life expectancy, the doctor emphasizes.
The forensic doctor would like the positive things to receive more attention in the Corona debate: “If this virus comes into a nursing home with very old, very sick people, there are deaths, yes. But most survive even there. What bothers me is that only the bad side is told, not how things can turn out well. ”The 68-year-old, who will retire in October, argues for a self-determined approach to risk. “It would be rational to simply classify the pandemic among the many dangers and diseases that exist in the world and in life. I keep seeing people in my institute who have deliberately accepted major risks. As a smoker, while eating, during sex. They should, as long as they don’t endanger anyone else. Let’s live our life as long as we have it. “
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