Germany's health system could buckle if faced with crisis seen in Italy, public health chief warns

Germany’s health infrastructure would not be able to cope with the huge influx of Covid-19 patients currently seen in Italy, the head of Robert Koch Institute (RKI) has said.

Lothar Wieler, who heads the institute responsible for disease control n Germany, told local media that the country would not have the necessary equipment if the number of hospitalizations spiked.

"We cannot rule out that we will have more patients than ventilators in this country... Of course, we must expect that the capacities will not be sufficient," Wieler warned.

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Germany rose to 52,547 on Sunday, with 389 fatalities. However, the number of new cases over the past twenty-four hours dropped noticeably when compared to previous days.

Chancellor Angela Merkel has told Germans that a nationwide shutdown will be kept in place for the foreseeable future, arguing that the measures cannot be lifted until the number of daily cases is significantly reduced. Her government has said that it’s unlikely that the provisions will be lifted before April 20.

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