I do know that in q1-2020 doctors/hospitals in Germany had no clue of how to actually treat the severe cases. Need for "ventilation" shows the treatment failed. I believe that today this has changed a lot. So "winning time" already helped: To create treatment knowledge (efficiency in hospitals), but also build capacity, and level out its usage.
Anecdote of knowledge creation in German public discourse:
First idea in March to use "masks" in public was heavily opposed by top virologists, who said "simple masks" are useless, and they could not prevent an infection at all. Only within 3 weeks of discourse, this completely changed into: simple masks are one of the most efficient measures to reduce the spread of infection.
It's impressive: even the most conservative businesses / offices started to understand that physical presence for many desk jobs is not a strict necessity. This exploded the adoption of virtual work - and maybe more self directed work as well. On a scale beyond commuting: a shift away from physical business travel was not sustainably achieved by 9-11. But maybe now fell on fertile grounds.
"German disease": engineered a top-notch high-sofistication warning app, even ensuring with the highest levels of privacy protection. But out of politicians fear of public perception re. "data privacy" decided to exclude the most valuable features regarding disease control. The app is only a personal warning gadget. All activities re. tracking and counting infections continue "manually" (identification of contact persons etc.). |