1. As of the closure of yesterday (18 Mar), the number of infected in Germany rests at: 8,198 (RKI numbers, roughly a thousand new cases over the previous 24 hours). Number dead: 13 (WHO numbers). I should note, N-TV is reporting 27 dead.
2. Chancellor Merkel's speech last night? It was carried widely, at different times (taped). It was the 'get-real', 'stand-tall' type of speech. She did note that this is the worst that Germany has faced since WW II (some Germans would argue about that description).
3. How the Italian Coronavirus became a crisis? There's been a study done in Italy and a curious landscape has emerged on the massive nature of infected and death in Italy.
So for those who aren't aware of the Italian 'tradition'......at a certain age, grandma and grandpa move into the parents large home....usually getting a small studio apartment on the first floor. You might actually have both sets of grandparents in the building. On the second floor would be the parents (usually in their 40s to 50s). On the third floor, would be the two to three kids (going to school or apprentice work, still unmarried at age 23).
So the kids leave the home, often doing apprentice work and traveling by train to the 'big' city.
In the Lombardy region, a lot of the kids were going to Milan....working and socializing. In the midst of this, they brought the virus back to the home-town, and the house.
So in this average Italian home, say grandmother A, grandfather A, and grandmother B....they mingled with the kids at dinner in the evening, and got sick. Because of their advanced age, and perhaps frail condition.....two out of the three (statistically speaking) ended up dead within three weeks.
Their age, and this Italian practice of keeping the grandparents in the home.....played against them.
Imagine a village of 12,000 people, and 400 homes in this situation, with two to three individuals in each home dead inside of four weeks. There would be funerals on a daily basis, and everyone in that town would know five to ten people who were dead from this circumstance.
In the German sense? It won't happen this way because they typically shuffle the grandparents off to old-folks home, or the grandparents try to live independent on their own as long as possible. So statistically, Germany will never reach the same level of infection and death, as Italy.
4. Differing numbers of dead? I've come to notice that various news sources have different numbers. I prefer the RKI numbers because typically....it's cited as the most reliable.
5. The grocery operations of Rewe, Penny and Aldi has said 'no' to being open on Sundays. A waiver now exists for open hours to occur.
6. Full restrictions on entry into Germany. If you are German, or EU member citizens....you can enter. Anyone else? Forbidden entry, and you return to your country.
7. A Bavarian city has gone to the full-up curfew status. You are only allowed to leave the home if you are shopping, going to a medical appointment, or work. Nothing else is allowed (even walking the dog is frowned upon).
8. Only 5-percent of Lufthansa flights are being carried out at this point.
9. German farmers are starting to worry because this is the season for strawberrys to be plants (along with asparagus). You'd do the work with mostly guest-workers from Romania. The trend says that only one-third of the typical work-force is showing up.
10. Some suggestions are coming up (NOT by virus experts or doctors, but by politicians) that the number of infected might be ten times what the official numbers show. Proof? None. But this is being chatted about in public forums. Realistically? If you had the typical three symptoms for a flu, and just average 'harsh'.....you might just stay home and run it out, and never be tested. Politicians might be right but no way to prove this idea.
11. Wiesbaden finally set up a central testing facility in the city. Here's the thing....you have to call your doctor first and answer roughly five to eight questions. If he is satisfied, he puts your name and insurance 'number' into the system, and you are approved to be at the testing facility. You drive up.....give a sample, and drive away. Results by the next day. Attempting to show up and bluff your way through a sample, without the doctor's approval? Zero chance.
12. There is some 'chatter' going on (mostly by political folks) that Germany needs a 'ministry of truth' to combat fake news.....during this crisis period. Personally, I would suggest that if you want to move in this direction, you might as well shutdown social media, blogs, and all alternate news sites. Yes, just allow the 'ministry of truth' to tell you what you need to know, and accept this as the norm of society.
I put this idea in the same category of having a 'ministry of temptation' where you'd attempt to halt bawdy women, lustful situations, lewd behavior, and lascivious settings. Women would be forbidden from wearing halter tops, tube tops, and 5-inch heels. Men would never present any immoral suggestions. Life would be simple....pure....and wholesome.
The same could be said for the idea of a 'ministry of alcohol consumption' (maxing out at 2-percent beer/wine), or a 'ministry of accident control' (limiting the speed of cars to 60 kph).
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