Germany fears, not the virus, but its panic

Politicians insist the country is ready for cases if any person is affected by coronavirus. But what they fear most is, not the virus, but the panic.

On Sunday, a sick lady who had flown from China was treated as a suspected coronavirus case in Berlin.

According to German media, she suffered from suspicious symptoms.

The lady was isolated at the Red Cross hospital in the German capital.

But then the occasion proved to be a false alarm. The lady had a big cold.

The only coronavirus patients in Europe were treated in France on Sunday, according to the Robert Koch Institute.

The organisation is in the process of creating a co-ordination office in which experts will decide how to deal with patients with coronavirus, whether and when they arrive in Germany.

Experts believe this will probably happen soon.

The Health Ministry in Berlin does not really fear the virus, because Germany in general is prepared for crises of this kind.

Entrance flights with suspected coronavirus on board will be directed to one of six airports with medical capacities.

They are Frankfurt Airport, where most of the flights from Asia land, Munich, Dusseldorf, Hamburg, Tegel Airport in Berlin and Schönefeld Airport in Brandenburg.

There medical personnel would care for the person. The patient would be taken to an isolation department. All major clinics in Germany have them. Their staff is already being informed and prepared for each event.

Because coronavirus is actually less dangerous than the flu, according to the German Ministry of Health, the creation of special isolation units is not planned, it transmits Telegrafi. This means that every patient with coronavirus and suspected cases will be treated in the regular isolation departments already available.

German experts believe that there may be coronavirus cases in their country, but what scares Berlin more than the virus itself is the panic it may cause.