Health “StopsCOVID Study”
“The measures worked before they even came into force”
Status: 2:53 p.m. | Reading time: 3 minutes
The evaluation is based on data from the districts and was commissioned by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy
Quelle: Getty Images/Westend61
You can listen to our WELT podcasts here
In order to display embedded content, your revocable consent to the transmission and processing of personal data is required, since the providers of the embedded content as third-party providers require this consent [In diesem Zusammenhang können auch Nutzungsprofile (u.a. auf Basis von Cookie-IDs) gebildet und angereichert werden, auch außerhalb des EWR]. By setting the switch to “on”, you agree to this (which can be revoked at any time). This also includes your consent to the transfer of certain personal data to third countries, including the USA, in accordance with Art. 49 (1) (a) GDPR. You can find more information about this. You can withdraw your consent at any time via the switch and via privacy at the bottom of the page.
Many corona measures caused discussions during the pandemic, including the obligation to wear a mask, vaccinations or social contact restrictions. The Robert Koch Institute has now submitted a report on its effectiveness in the fight against Sars-Cov-2.
According to a study by the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), measures such as the obligation to wear masks and contact restrictions have made a significant contribution to combating the corona pandemic. Above all, the combination of the various precautions was the decisive factor in the fact that a person infected with the Sars-Cov-2 pathogen infected significantly fewer people than otherwise, according to the report published on Thursday. “If you look at them individually, they have a much weaker effect,” said an RKI expert on Thursday when the results were presented.
The RKI reports to the Federal Ministry of Health and regularly issued risk assessments and recommendations for infection control during the pandemic, which sparked discussions. For the “StoptCOVID study”, the scientists considered more than 20 non-pharmaceutical measures that were prescribed between March 2020 and August 2021. These include the obligation to wear masks, school closures and distance regulations.
The evaluation is based on data from the districts, which were documented by the Bonn Institute for Applied Social Sciences (infas) on behalf of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy. The effects of the measures on the infection process were calculated based on the development of the so-called R value. This value indicates how many people an infected person infects on average.
processing of the pandemic
also read
The authors found a particularly sharp drop in the infection rate for contact and assembly restrictions for private individuals in public spaces: They estimate that the R value has fallen by around 20 to 30 percent as a result. In general, the stricter the measures were, the more the R value decreased.
“Needs many restrictions to produce a strong reduction”
The report notes another aspect: the number of infections fell during the observation period even before a new regulation was implemented. “That means the measures took effect before they even came into force,” said an RKI expert. This is probably because people – knowing that a new measure would come – would have already followed it, for example reduced their contacts.
Based on the data and their analyses, the researchers say they cannot accurately assess how individual measures worked separately or whether certain regulations were useless. The effects on the infection process were too difficult to separate. One thing is certain: “Many restrictions are required to bring about a strong reduction,” said the RKI expert. According to the report, the measures would have prevented the health system from being severely overloaded until effective vaccines were developed.
Where did the coronavirus come from?
In addition to the non-pharmaceutical measures, a high vaccination rate made a significant contribution to fewer people becoming infected. “This led to a significantly weaker third wave of Covid-19, especially in the older population,” says the report.
According to the study, however, one aspect should be given more consideration in future pandemics: the mental health of people and their coexistence could suffer from protective measures. Possible negative consequences of precautions and their mitigation should therefore be given more consideration when planning a pandemic.
You can listen to our WELT podcasts here
In order to display embedded content, your revocable consent to the transmission and processing of personal data is required, since the providers of the embedded content as third-party providers require this consent [In diesem Zusammenhang können auch Nutzungsprofile (u.a. auf Basis von Cookie-IDs) gebildet und angereichert werden, auch außerhalb des EWR]. By setting the switch to “on”, you agree to this (which can be revoked at any time). This also includes your consent to the transfer of certain personal data to third countries, including the USA, in accordance with Art. 49 (1) (a) GDPR. You can find more information about this. You can withdraw your consent at any time via the switch and via privacy at the bottom of the page.
“Aha! Ten minutes of everyday knowledge” is WELT’s knowledge podcast. Every Tuesday and Thursday we answer everyday questions from the field of science. Subscribe to the podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Deezer, Amazon Music, among others, or directly via RSS feed.