The practice doctors in Germany consider themselves armed for the handling of the new corona virus. When it comes to replenishing protective equipment, however, there is a need for action. “The basic stock that the resident colleagues have in their practices will not be sufficient nationwide if the number of suspected cases increases,” said the head of the National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians (KBV), Andreas Gassen, the German Press Agency. “And everything points to that.”
One is therefore in discussion with the Federal Ministry of Health and all those involved in order to be able to remedy the situation quickly and to provide protective clothing where it is needed. “There has to be clarity about how doctors can get the necessary material.” When asked whether the practices could cope with the situation, the head of the health insurance company said: “A clear yes!” The resident colleagues are well organized and positioned. As far as tests for the new virus are concerned, it was possible to quickly agree on the assumption of costs with the umbrella organization of statutory health insurance companies.
The situation in Germany
To date, almost 170 people in Germany have contracted the new Sars-CoV-2 coronavirus. According to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), the age of those infected is between two and 68 years. The RKI, which is responsible for the continuous observation and assessment of the situation in Germany, evaluates the Health hazard currently considered “moderate”, Currently, as most of the known cases are related to a stay in the risk area or local focus, the RKI recommends the containment strategy (containment). Among other things, this approach provides for precautionary home isolation for everyone who has had contact with an infected person – for 14 days, the maximum duration of the incubation period.
The situation in the federal states
In all West German federal states except Saarland there is at least one coronavirus case. No infections have so far been reported from the eastern German states.
- Baden-Wurttemberg, So far, 20 cases of infections are known in the federal state.
- Bavaria currently reports 34 infected people. Follow current developments in detail in our News blog from the Free State,
- Berlin has so far reported three infections with the virus,
- Bremen, Lower Saxony and Saxony have confirmed one case each.
- Brandenburg also has a coronavirus sufferer.
- Hamburg counts three cases of Covid-19 infections, according to the dpa news agency. Two of the three people recently returned to Germany from Iran.
- Hesse reports ten infected people.
- North Rhine-Westphalia. The federal state has been hit hardest so far. 90 cases have been confirmed there, most of them in the Heinsberg district.
- Rheinland-Pfalz reports two cases of Covid-19.
- Schleswig-Holstein has confirmed two infections.
- Thuringia also reports an infection with the novel corona virus.
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Status: 03.03.2020, 5 a.m. Numbers, unless otherwise stated: Robert Koch Institute
Corona outbreaks worldwide
While in China, Where the novel Sars-CoV-2 virus first appeared in December, the number of new infections declines and employees return to their jobs, the confirmed cases are increasing rapidly elsewhere. Among the hardest hit countries in the world South Korea, where almost 5000 are now infected and Iran (1500); in Europe Italy with more than 2000 cases most infections. The government in Rome has launched a € 3.6 billion aid program to alleviate the economic consequences of the outbreak. These are already noticeable in the travel industry: According to estimates from Brussels, the EU member states are missing monthly revenues of one billion euros because tourists are absent. Prices on the stock exchanges are falling worldwide; the Dax lost a good 13.5 percent last week – the blackest week for investors since the beginning of the global financial crisis in 2008.
Also in the USA Virus has spread further and has led to six deaths so far. The dead were reported from nursing homes in the US state of Washington near the metropolis of Seattle, the local authorities said on Monday. The first death there was reported on Saturday, the first since the outbreak began in the United States.
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