Covid-19: Why does Germany have low death rate?

Team Udayavani, Mar 27, 2020, 4:26 PM IST

Despite being hit by the pandemic, Germany has recorded an astonishingly low number of deaths in comparison to other countries. According to sources, Germany’s mortality rate is only 0.4%

Germany with 82 million people, has recorded more cases per capita than Iran, France and the U.S.

But in compared to countries like Italy and the U.K. and U.S., it has not shut down, although it has banned public gatherings of more than two people.

Germany is better equipped than most countries when it comes to health care. It has 28,000 intensive care beds, considerably higher than the European average. Because Germany had time to prepare as it was not hit as early as Italy and other countries.

Also, the main reason behind its relatively low death rate is the large number of tests it has been able to conduct. It is said that, the country has the capacity to test about 160,000 people every week and they have had a very aggressive testing process.

It is said that the virus has largely affected younger, healthier section of the population in Germany compared to elsewhere. Sources claim that, In Germany, more than 70 percent of the people identified as having been infected until now are between 20 and 50 years old.

Lastly, Germany does not conduct post mortem tests, which means, if a person dies in quarantine at home and does not go to hospital, there is a high chance they will not be included in the statistics.