Advisor to the Merkel Government, Christian drosten Every week he shares his knowledge with the Germans in a podcast interview broadcast on public television: Das coronavirus-Update. And he does it because his experience of other epidemics has led him to verify that much information is lost along the way and that He was not compensated for the effort invested in interviews, which too often laminated or decontextualized his knowledge. He argues that communication and science are two key pillars for managing a pandemic.
Drosten has been warning for days about the risks of too rapid a de-escalation in Germany, where shops and educational centers have been partially opened, and the arrival of a second wave of infections.
Will a second wave of COVID-19 come?
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His omens are met by the continuing decline in the rate of reproduction and the number of new infections, and many are in a hurry to speed up their pace in a country that has not suffered from mandatory confinement. But Drosten, one of the world’s leading experts on coronavirus, insists that you should not turn your back on confinement at home and facilitate the prohibition of contacts with outsiders. And he criticizes that many shopping centers are once again full because their small stores comply with federal regulations. “We must fear that the number of infections will rise to an intolerable level”, indicates.
The 48-year-old was one of the researchers who identified the SARS virus in 2003, and in his podcasts he talks about studies on COVID-19, immunity, antibody tests, or digital tools to track infections. This week he has published number 35 and dedicated it to children as a result of the decision of some Länder like Berlin to open the playgrounds next week. Drosten is in favor because it allows avoiding “collateral damage” in families. The risk of infection in these outdoor enclosures is much lower than in a nursery.
His Charité team is working hard to find out if the concentration of the virus in children’s throats is lower than that of an adult. In his opinion, The health of children in this pandemic has been little investigated, because they are usually at the end of the infection chain.
His recommendations, however, have been met in recent weeks with hate speech not only on social media. The requirement to wear face masks, even if only on public transport and in commerce, or the restrictions on contacts are considered by many Germans to be exaggerated or useless. “Now comes what I call the ‘paradox of prevention.’ They don’t understand why their businesses have to close. They only look at what is happening here, not the situation in other countries, such as New York or Spain. For many Germans I am the bad guy who paralyzes the economy ”, He has said in an exclusive interview to the British newspaper The Guardian this week. He has even received death threats that the police are already investigating.
However, he says he is more concerned with emails from people who tell him they have three children and fear for their future. “It is not my fault, but they are these emails that keep me awake at night. ”
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