[Georg]

Dear colleagues,

In Italy, Spain as well as in some parts of Austria (until now), there are partial lock downs in place. THis is a very strong intervention and affecting the life of the full population.

Especially for families with young children, this is a challenge.

But also in the EMS, we see a strong effect. Until now, in VIenna we are staffing up with reservists from the army as well as former civil service people, who get reactivated. People who are not longer gone than 5 years are recalled and brougth to duty. At this moment it is a volunteer service.

In this thread, you can post your experiences and discuss the lock down and the handling of it.

[Sandra]

Dear all, 

I live in Madrid, and as in Italy we’re  struggling fiercely against Covid-19. I think people isn’t still aware of the problem´s severity, and it has been necessary for the government (through army and police) to start imposing sanctions on those who break out of confinement. Maybe governments need to be harder on their communications and show what is really happening on the intensive care units. There’s not enough equipment (mainly ventilators) and the situation keeps getting worse. 

Beside that, I think we are not as organized as Koreans or Chinese for example. They got it perfectly and started to make “driving tests” of coronavirus, building tent hospitals, delivering food to people (so they don’t have to go shopping in this situation…). In Spain, people keeps going almost everyday to the supermarket just to gou outside of their homes. They’re definitely not getting it.

About medical services, they are also recruiting retired physicians and nurses aswell, and medical doctors from other specialties (neurology, pediatrics, endocrinology…). The army is activated too at this point. 

Do you think  restrictions and the lock down should be stricter?

Best regards,

Sandra Rueda Charro, MD

• This reply was modified 4 years, 1 month ago by  Sandra.

[Inge]

Dear all,

I live in Germany , and can state that the corona pandemic is changing the lives of all Germans. In order to slow the spread of the lung disease, the federal and state governments agreed to take drastic measures in the fight against the corona virus. There is no curfew, but among other things there is a far-reaching ban on contacts. In a press conference Angela Merkel presented the new, nationwide measures.

Rules for people:

“Groups of people celebrating – even in private – are unacceptable,” she said. Citizens should reduce contact with other people as much as possible. Anyone who goes out may only do this alone, with another person or with relatives from the household. Outside the home, everyone must be at least 1.50 meters away from other people or groups of people. Basically, it remains important to comply with hygiene regulations.

Rules for the economy:

Restaurants and restaurants are closed, but food and drinks can be taken away. Personal care services are closed, except for medically necessary services.

The rules apply from March 23 and were extended on April 1 by the federal and state governments until April 19, 2020.

[Sandra]

Thank you Inge for your reply. Actually Germany’s performance against covid 19 is one of the most exemplary in europe. 

Is there any information about how are they keeping such a low mortality rate? 

Best regards, 

Sandra Rueda, MD

• This reply was modified 4 years ago by  Sandra.

[Inge]

Hi Sandra,

below you can find the link to an interesting article which explains how our state maneges to keep the mortality rate low. 

https://www.bmj.com/content/369/bmj.m1395.

Regards,

Inge

[Sandra]

Thank you so much Inge! 

So by now, their action could be summarized in: 

– “High level of testing among a wide sample of the German population”. They have tested not only severe cases, but also young people with mild cases. 

– Unlike other countries, they don’t have a centralized lab, so there are a lot of labs that can run tests with quality. 

– Early action on:  social distancing, closing schools and most retail businesses, isolating Covid cases. 

– Despite this facts, their health minister claims that mortality rates can increase as they are “at the very beginning of the wave compared to other countries”.

[Joachim]

Good afternoon, we drafted a detailed article on how of our member organisations – all medical organisations in Europe – work at the forefront of the pandemic, providing care and support. Rules and resulting responses are quite broad across Europe. You will find more information here.