Germany’s Merkel: 60 to 70% in Germany will become infected with coronavirus | Hacker News Reader

Germany’s Merkel: 60 to 70% in Germany will become infected with coronavirus

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14 pointsdraugadrotten16 comments

Better link: https://www.businessinsider.com/angela-merkel-estimates-coro...

How is that in line with China and South Korea apparently being able to bend the curve? Is she saying we are not willing to follow China's lead on disrupting the entire country and therefore accept a 70% infection rate over the next 18 months or so?

That's called being realistic and being honest with your people. Lies are short lived and end up in panic. Its better to inform of what is about to come to let people internalize and accept that in near future things will change for a while.

> China's lead

You mean aggressively denying that anything is happening and sweeping the early cases under a rug until it blew in their face?

Don't get me wrong. I am not saying they doing something wrong. I am just trying to reconcile two completely different approaches and worldview. Maybe that's the problem to begin with

(Disclaimer: I'm German, but not a lawyer).

One part of it is that we don't have the legal infrastructure in place. For example, the federal government has no power to outlaw gatherings and assemblies because of health concerns. Only the municipal health authorities can do that if they so choose.

The federal system is indeed much stronger than in other countries (local health, law enforcement, courts, parliaments, school policies, etc) due to lessons learned with fascism.

It sort of does. Please have a look at the Infektionsschutzgesetz: https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/ifsg/BJNR104510000.html (infection safety law).

previously https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22543055

It seems pretty much inevitable, for every country that allows reasonable freedoms in travel.

Call me paranoid but I have prepared for low to moderate disruption for the next 6 months.

That disruption being financial, career, social and welfare (food). After that time I am hoping we will return to some form of normalcy. Then if we get a vaccine within a year it will be a lot better.

Yeah. I have put my plans for overseas vacations and switching jobs on hold. Not a good time to do so those things.

I also put travel plans on hold, but went ahead with my job change. I’ve been planning it for months and couldn’t bring myself to call it off. Mine was less of a job change and more of leaving an overworked position to go back to small business ownership.

What made you decide to wait? Was it job-specific or are you in a place with an active outbreak?

I don’t see food supplies being affected outside some specialty food. But I don’t see staples being affected such that supplies get constrained.

Production might not be disrupted, but in a quarantine situation distribution could be affected.

Having the National Guard called up in a neighboring county to NYC has a some people panicking a bit and buying up nonperishable food.

I use Amazon Fresh for my groceries and found the times I normally booked it at all booked up.

Plus certain foods that have never been out of stock were out of stock, e.g. beans.

Will it last? Who knows?

Now that's interesting. How the heck could people all buy out dry beans, which are rather mass produced?

Or are we talking convenient cans?

Did you take the possible second and third wave into account?

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