[nomadking]

Originally Posted by jonbxx

Just read an interesting article in the FT about how Germany handled and is handling the outbreak - https://t.co/Ho1Q11Ndm3?amp=1 (not paywalled)

There are many aspects where there can't be a comparison between the UK and Germany (massively devolved health management and a mixed state and private healthcare system) but it's interesting nevertheless. It seems very local empowerment backed up by a strong, popular federal leadership was the key to Germany's success

This April, Walther Leonhard got an unusual call from the authorities in Rosenheim, his hometown in southern Germany.

So how did any action in April prevent cases before then and their more limited form of lockdown?

In Rosenheim, it could have been very different. A short drive from the Austrian border, this bustling, affluent town, with its medieval centre and grand 19th-century facades, was one of the hardest hit parts of the country. Locals returning from Shrovetide skiing holidays in nearby South Tyrol brought coronavirus home with them, while a three-day “strong beer” festival that started on March 6 acted as a “super-spreader”. By late May, Rosenheim district had suffered 183 deaths from Covid-19 and 864 coronavirus infections per 100,000 people — one of the highest ratios in Germany.

As I have to keep pointing out, the biggest factor in the number of cases, is the number of people bringing it into the country in the first place. Just think of the fictional scenario when somebody deliberately uses people to spread a virus. The more people used in country X compared to country Y, will increase the number of infections in X compared to Y.

It decided which patients were sent where, how to share out scarce protective equipment and where to create additional capacity. “There were really no instructions from Berlin,” says Deerberg-Wittram. “Decisions were made locally, on the spot.”

So what has Merkel got to do with that?

One major issue: the acute shortage of PPE, especially masks — at least at the start of the onslaught. Like other countries, Germany found itself having to scour the world for increasingly scarce supplies just as its hospitals needed them most.

Fewer cases, but still had a PPE shortage, same as with South Korea.

The UK has had plans in place for more than 10 years. They have been, and are, publicly available. It's all related to the Civil Contingencies Act 2004. The NHS also had £100m of stock set aside for a pandemic.