1. Dead: 119 (Focus numbers) Infected: 28,981 (Focus numbers). Just in the Wiesbaden-City area, there are now 94 on the infected list (Wiesbadenaktuell numbers).
2. Focus reported this morning that a group of infected and seriously affected Italians were flown into Saxony yesterday, for treatment in German hospitals. Total numbers? Less than 20 at this point. Some German hospitals (particularly in the eastern region) aren't that burdened at this point.
3. Celebrating in any sense (your birthday, your retirement from the office, etc) is seriously frowned upon now in German society. In most communities, catering operations have completely shut down....exceptions are for retirement homes or medical establishments.
4. We are in the period where high school graduation exams (the Abi) would occur. HR (regional Hessen TV) brought up this topic.....that the schools are proceeding ahead with the test measure. Lot of criticism by instructors and kids over the test right now. Main problem is that some kids will do badly because of Coronavirus 'fright', and extra exams might be required.
5. Report by Focus this morning over Italian soldiers arriving at some homes which were occupied by older Italians, and finding that the residents were dead. No numbers given, but one might suggest it will probably trigger a massive house by house review in the northern Italy region, to settle worries.
6. First test done on Chancellor Merkel.....results are negative. She will continue the 14-day self-quarantine period. Spahn, the Health Minister, is the face that Germans see nightly and has been that way for past three weeks.
7. Last night, RTL (commercial German TV) ran a live quarantine-promi-reality show. Yeah, it's pretty crazy.
Basically four prominent Germans (entertainers) that either have the virus or are in some self-quarantine deal. Participants used Skype (at least it seemed that way) and on entertainment 'value'.....I might give it a '3' at best. Their focus however, is to show everyone is united and cooperating....thus encouraging regular people to do the quarantine if necessary.
This will probably be adding suggestions for adults to do while in this situation. No idea how long this 'show' will last. It would seem like you'd have to go and find fresh new quarantine entertainment-participants every ten days or so.
8. I noticed some survey unit in the US has gone to adding the news media to the job-approval rating 'gimmick', and they got a lesser rating than Trump during this Coronavirus period.
9. Some suggestion going on for an emergency G-20 summit (via video only). France's Macron is calling for this. Hard to say if there's anything to be gained....other than getting headline space for a day. You'd just have 20 airheads saying it's 'bad', and you could have gotten that same analysis from 20 Bavarian farmers.
10. Toilet-paper shortage? Still continuing. But I imagine at this point....virtually everyone has a six-month supply in their basement. I looked in my basement room, and the wife seems to have a stash worth eight months. I should add though....the kid (29) is always behind on shopping duties and he'll probably consume a quarter of our stash.
11. It's a topic rarely discussed.....but ARD (public TV, Channel One) brought it up this morning.....a lot of the employees of the German retirement home system....are eastern Europeans (Poles, Czechs, Hungarians, Bulgarians, etc), and there is a suggestion that some are fearful of staying in Germany. Number working in the system? Near 300,000. The commentary suggests that a fair number are afraid of the situation and want to return home. If they leave? Well....a massive problem that the Germans really can't handle.
What might come out of this? I would suggest a bonus deal for each three months you stay on....a 1,500 Euro deal (tax-free).
12. The German state of NRW is drafting up a list of fines for Coronavirus 'bad-boys'. N-TV carried a good bit of this discussion. Making an unauthorized visit to a retirement home or hospital? 800 Euro fine. Having a public meeting of more than two people? 200 Euro fine. Holding a public bar-b-q? 250 Euro fine. Running a bar? 5,000 Euro fine.
Public reaction to this? Mute at this point. Most Germans (I would put the number at 90-percent) are cooperating with the ban on activities. However, with spring in the air, I'd say in about two weeks that people will be openly violating the bans (if they still exist).
13. N-TV reports that the average age of Coronavirus patients (in hospitals) is 45 (RKI numbers given to them). Kids and teenagers don't appear to get on the hospital list much. Average age of the death crowd in Germany? 82.
This would bring up a discussion over the 119 dead so far in Germany.....which the massive bulk of them are over the age of 70.
14. If you do pull up the N-TV graphic map.....eastern Germany (old DDR states) are the least infected area of Germany. Western states (particularly NRW, Bavaria and Baden-Wurttemberg are the most infected.
Rural features figuring into this? A number of folks have the opinion that eastern Germany is sparsely populated, when compared against NRW or Hessen. Having traveled in the region....to some degree, I would go along with this.
15. Corona-stress. New word popping up and being used by Germans.
What I'll say is that several segments of German society is having stress-related issues.
If you work in the medical establishment, you probably are pulling 45 hours a week minimum right now, and the idea of a vacation occurring in the next six months is zero.
If you work in a company that sent you home and is in serious financial trouble....you got stress.
If you watch German news six hours out of the day.....virtually every minute is consumed with Corona news, and you are fed up with it.
If you are at home with your kids, and no school anticipated for another four weeks minimum....you got stress.
For some Germans, serious drinking or medication issues are going to arrive by mid-summer if the virus continues on.
2 comments:
"Basically four prominent Germans (entertainers) that either have the virus or are in some self-quarantine deal. Participants used Skype ... to show everyone is united and cooperating....thus encouraging regular people to do the quarantine if necessary."
Yep. Cool concept. Lemme watch some rich person complain about how bored they are in their 20,000 sq ft mansion with a view and movie theater and Olympic size pool and chef's kitchen and their huge bank account while the rest of us are here in our 700 sq ft apartment that we may not be able to make rent on next month.
They are avoiding showing the 'mansion' part....simply keeping the guy in a office-type room. That was one thing I noticed. I lost interest in this show in eight minutes (my wife lingered on it for 40 minutes).
I also browsed another channel last night...German couple who live in Spain and run a fitness studio for visiting Germans. Shut down by the Spaniards over virus worries, and most all Germans having retreated back to the 'home-land'. That couple is seriously in financial trouble...if this were to go another six to eight weeks. Lot of money invested and they were making the income up until this point. Will be a lot of folks like that....Spanish coast attracts Germans in the spring and summer. And this year won't amount to anything if they don't show up.
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