RKI and scientists at other institutions mobilized in early January 2020 to launch a national crisis management effort to understand the epidemiology of the pandemic.ĭetect: One of the first diagnostic tests for COVID-19 was developed at Berlin’s Charité hospital, and the government worked to mobilize the country’s public and private laboratories to rapidly scale up testing capacity. Prevent: Local health authorities, the Robert Koch Institute (RKI)-Germany’s public health institute-and other scientific institutions produce data and analysis to inform Germany’s response.

With the surge, however, the disease began to spread among older people, and hospital capacity has been stretched. Germany’s prevention protocols facilitated the country’s rapid response to the outbreak, with the early development of testing capacity and high levels of testing, an effective containment strategy among older people, and efficient use of ample hospital capacity. The country’s strong enabling environment, including a good public health care system and expert scientific institutions, contributed to the early success. However, starting in October 2020, the country experienced a major surge in cases and deaths that has yet to be brought under control as of January 2021.

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Germany has demonstrated elements of success across the four phases of our preparedness and response framework: prevent, detect, contain, and treat.

Nyc lockdown date december 2020