In their home countries, they are worshiped by some of the people like pop stars.
Some, like Christian Drosten and Anthony Fauci, are even internationally known: virologists, epidemiologists, immunologists. Suddenly the world knows their names, politicians listen when they warn.
But the step into the public sphere makes it simpler – and stokes hatred. An overview
Sweden – Anders Tegnell
There is a man in Sweden who got Anders Tegnell’s face tattooed on the Oberam. The photo of it went around the world. Tegnell is Sweden’s chief epidemiologist and many in the country share the enthusiasm of the tattooed. Because the 64-year-old is largely responsible for the Swedish special route, which relies on voluntary distance and on hygiene rules instead of closing restaurants and schools.
[Alle aktuellen Entwicklungen in Folge der Coronavirus-Pandemie finden Sie hier in unserem Newsblog]
It was well received by the population that a lockdown was avoided. However, Sweden has one of the highest per capita death rates in the world. On Sunday Tegnell himself says: “It is a terrible situation in which we ended up.” But: “I doubt that we could have done much more. How could we have changed the care system in a few weeks? ”
Most of the dead had died in old people’s homes and nursing homes.
USA – Anthony Fauci
Socks, cups, masks, T-shirts – a real merchandise cult has developed around Anthony Fauci. The 79-year-old heads the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and is considered the voice of reason in the Trump administration and an iron advocate of social distancing measures.
But that is exactly what has made him a hate object of right-wing radicals in the USA, who, among other things, spread the theory that he only wants to prevent Trump’s re-election. Because of the many threats, Fauci is now being given personal protection.
Italy – Massimo Galli
There are few TV shows in Italy that Massimo Galli has not attended since the beginning of the crisis, which has hit his country as hard as no other in Europe. He is the chief doctor for infectious diseases in Milan’s Luigi Sacco hospital and prepared the Italians early for the fight against the corona virus. He is valued for his clear analyzes, in which he did not hide the fact that he considers the multi-generation households in Italy to be one of the main sources of danger for infections in the country.
He described the hard lockdown as the “mother of all battles”. In addition, he gained respect that he continued to do research in the laboratory between his numerous public appearances in order to master the virus. He also used his popularity politically – and blamed the catastrophe Germany. For weeks he advocated the thesis that the virus only came to Italy from there.
Greece – Sotirios Tsiodras
He knew well that the Greek health system is so weak that any risk would inevitably lead to disaster. So he was careful from the start. The pathologist Sotirios Tsiodras is head of the Corona crisis team in Greece. Before most European countries, Greece switched to emergency operation. The number of infected people is still manageable.
Tsiodras always appears calm, empathetic, presents himself as a man from the people. His expertise is undisputed, he was trained at the Havard Medical School. According to surveys, he is currently the most popular person in Greece.
Spain – Fernando Simón
In the end it hit him himself. In March Fernando Simón tested positive for the corona virus. In February, the director of the coordination center for medical emergencies at the Ministry of Health in Madrid announced that the risk in Spain was low and there was no need to worry too much.
The following weeks he spent spreading new bad news on Spanish television every day, which made him a hate figure and earned him the reputation of being a catastrophic crisis manager. In fact, after Italy in Europe, Spain is worst affected in Europe. However, when the news of his own illness spread, he was met with a wave of sympathy among the population. He survived the disease with mild symptoms.
–
