LONDON, U.K. -- Hello Berlin.
It seems as if Germany is doing a lot of things right in this pandemic. By implication, that means other European countries have been doing things… well… less right.
Britain’s chief medical officer conceded that point, even as the nation was fretting and worrying over its prime minister. After headlines about “Sick Boris fighting for his life,” Downing Street insisted he was improving, even sitting up and engaging with medical staff. And as they’d been saying for days, he was “in good spirits.”
So, about Germany.
It simply “got ahead” in testing people for the virus, according to the U.K.’s voice of medical wisdom, Prof. Chris Whitty -- who, by the way, was off for a while with his own COVID-19 symptoms. Which makes me ask: Why was Prof. Whitty able to shake off the virus and Boris Johnson wasn’t?
- Complete coverage at CTVNews.ca/Coronavirus
- Coronavirus newsletter sign-up: Get The COVID-19 Brief sent to your inbox
Germany is testing up to a half a million people a week, as a lot of other countries struggle to do far less. Consider this fact: when the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic killed millions, Germany was a ruined state destroyed by war. As it was in 1945.
Over then to my friend and , who’s been living and working in Berlin for a few years.
“It feels like we’re in a conflict zone.”
Nick would know about that.
He works freelance for German state television, where they keep track of where you sit. If somebody at a nearby desk comes down with symptoms, they disinfect the area and send you home. He has not been tested yet.
“We haven’t been told to go and get tested by the government. I’ve seen stories of people lining up at clinics at six in the morning.”
Germany’s mortality rate is said to be less than two per cent. Compare that with the horror of a 12-per-cent death rate in Italy. That’s what makes Germany stand out during these dark days. Fewer people are dying there.
“People feel confident about the government’s response,” he told me. “That’s a big deal when you’re afraid of dying.”
Nick’s been jogging down Berlin’s great empty avenues in a strange freeze-frame of life suspended. Running to a desolate Brandenburg Gate.
“You can run down the middle of the street if you want.”
OK, let’s make that a point of lockdown discussion. How much more can people take? A little? A lot? Or, I’ve had it!
Raise those disinfected hands.
I ask that because Paris just banned all outdoor exercise between the hours of 10 a.m. and 7 p.m. No jogging, no cycling, no rollerblading. Imagine what that means? No bike riding in the land of the Tour de France -- unless you’re just hopping out to buy groceries.
I thought the U.K. was being extreme last weekend when it banned sun bathing. I also note -- with satisfaction -- that you can still walk your dog in Paris.
The last word for today, the last two words actually: baked beans.
The British seem to love their baked beans. So much so that in recent weeks, the Tesco supermarket giant sold six million times during coronavirus panic buying. Six million. Oh yeah, and 3.3 million tins of tomatoes.
I say…whatever it takes to get you through this collective coronavirus nightmare, go for it.
Goodbye Day 16. Why does it feel like last Wednesday?
