Germany Says Widespread Testing Keeping Virus Deaths Low

Germany is testing up to 500,000 people a week for the new coronavirus, a virologist said Thursday, adding that early detection has been key in keeping the country's death rate relatively low

Berlin, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 26th Mar, 2020 ) :Germany is testing up to 500,000 people a week for the new coronavirus, a virologist said Thursday, adding that early detection has been key in keeping the country's death rate relatively low.

The country has more than 36,000 declared cases of the virus, among the highest in Europe, but has managed to avoid the high death rates seen in hard-hit Italy and Spain.

Experts say widespread testing and tracing of COVID-19 cases is key to limiting the spread of the disease, an approach adopted in South Korea and Singapore where the outbreak has largely been contained.

In Germany, virologist Christian Drosten said it had helped to keep the death rate under control.

"The reason why Germany has so few deaths compared to the number of infected people can be explained by the fact that we carry out an extremely large number of laboratory diagnostic tests," said Drosten, who heads the Institute of Virology at Berlin's Charite University Hospital.

"Estimates from the last days show that we are carrying out half a million tests a week," he said.

He added that a vast network of laboratories across the country had helped with the widespread testing.