Nightmare Dancers

It has become crystal clear that people are predominantly infected with SARS-CoV-2 when they are in closed spaces together with contagious persons, i.e., at home, in supermarkets, in restaurants and bars, as well as in public transport.

This was confirmed by an extensive study in China, where researchers traced hundreds of infections. All but one occurred indoors, where during long exposures to contaminated aerosols, the respiratory tract will accumulate a viral load necessary and sufficient for severe infection with Covid-19.

My Latest MNBs

This is why Red Baron always wears his mouth-nose-covers in closed spaces but never in Gottes freier Natur (God's great nature).

In the background, an engraving shows Hamburg in 1700.

Here are my latest acquisitions sent directly from Hamburg, where I spent my high school years.

In the background, you see an oil painting by my late wife.

"Moin Moin" is a common Frisian expression, "Moin" meaning "(Good) Day," and "Moin Moin" being an emphasis, i.e., "A Very Good Day," as I read on the Internet. This greeting is famous throughout northern Germany.

When I discussed the issue with people from Friesland, they told me that "Moin Moin" is the "official" greeting in the morning, meaning "Good Morning." When you meet friends in the afternoon, you use the shortened form "Moin," thus making the word ambivalent for "Moin," which may mean Good Afternoon, Good Evening, or even Good Night.

Noms

Living his claustrophobia, Red Baron celebrated the opening of restaurants in the state of Baden-Württemberg last Monday at the Biergarten of "Der Kaiser," starting with Kaiser's sparkling wine in Kaiserwetter! After 8 weeks of forced waiting, I had a Wiener Schnitzel in a charming company. Note: The mouth and nose covers have been removed but are within easy reach.

The expression Kaiserwetter (Kaiser weather) dates back to the last German, Kaiser Wilhelm II (2nd Reich), who liked to spend his time during war games in splendid sunshine.

However, the restaurant "Der Kaiser" (formerly "Der Deutsche Kaiser") is named after the first son of Empress Maria-Theresa, Kaiser Joseph II (1st Reich), who visited Anterior Austria, the oldest patrimony of the All-Highest Archducal House, with its capital Freiburg in 1777.

I had a reunion with my daughter, who managed to cross the Swiss-German border on Tuesday, at the Biergarten of the restaurant Grüner Baum (Green Tree). That is where proprietor Richard Aubert, from Corsica, serves the best Piccata Milanese in Freiburg. Be sure to order the specialty with spaghetti aglio e olio—a delight.

The apotheosis of my noms trilogy: White asparagus al dente at the Oberkirch restaurant served with Kratzede*, Sauce Hollandaise. and an authentic Wiener Schnitzel. i.e., made from veal.
*a torn-up pancake

We sat outdoors (where else?) with the Minster church in view.

Präventionsparadox

The paradox of prevention means that you are always the loser. The Social Democrat member of the Bundestag (Germany's House of Representatives) and epidemiologist Professor Karl Lauterbach sarcastically stated, "In Corona politics, you can choose how to fail. One could react too much or too little to a pandemic. In the first case, there will be economic losses; in the second case, there will be more deaths. In any case, anyone who decides to do or fails to do something is considered a loser."

However, 80% of Germans approve of the restrictive measures, although 30% obtain their information primarily "somewhere on the Internet." So, for them, the pandemic is developing into an "infodemic." In fact, agitators in major German cities are attempting to build up a protest backdrop that is being reinforced by the media.

Alptraumtänzer

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This time, Sascha Lobo analyzed the above table in his column, "Since mid-May, four countries have shown the most coronavirus-infected people worldwide. The four leaders of those countries, Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin, Jair Bolsonaro, and Boris Johnson, form a men's team with many similarities." 

Lobo continues, "It was obvious all along, but now it is measurable how little interest these powerful men have in the welfare of their people. It is unlikely that they will have to fear for their top positions in the Corona charts, but Brazil is likely to move up to second place (it has happened in the meantime). At least."

"All of them have, in part and at least temporarily:

- downplayed or even ignored the pandemic,

- considered the lives of vulnerable, elderly, sick people as disposable assets,

- decided according to their own political rather than scientific standards,

- given economic measures priority over health-related ones,

- and finally deceived their people against better judgment."

"All four men of power are united by patriarchal self-righteousness and arrogance, lacking empathy. The consequences are a more or less pronounced resistance to scientific advice and the will to manipulate their audiences. "

"In the 20th century, a frequent swearword applied to leftists was 'dream dancers.' They were accused of fading out the world's harsh reality and clinging to (supposedly) unattainable visions. Dream dancing has become a specialty in the 21st century, but now it has become a nightmare, a dance of the dead."

The Numbers

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During the last week, the four- and seven-day reproduction rates remained below one.

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Many districts in Germany now report no new cases, i.e., they are "free" of Corona, but the reduced number of cases cannot hide the risk of new infections still exists. The main problem for the local health authorities is the regional flare-up of recent outbreaks.

In Lower Saxony, for example, the authorities announced a new local Coronavirus outbreak over the last weekend. Several guests became infected in a restaurant in the Leer district. The infections were reported to the authorities between Tuesday and Friday. A domestic quarantine was ordered for at least 50 people as a precautionary measure.

Another local outbreak occurred in Hesse. More than 100 people became infected during a Baptist congregation in Frankfurt. The head of the city's health department commented, "The vast majority of the people are not particularly ill."

Corona Remains an Existential Challenge

Instead of acknowledging the low number of Corona deaths in Germany so far, people are starting to criticize our government for having imposed excessive restrictions.

The governor of the most heavily hit state, Bavaria, Markus Söder, commented, "Corona remains an existential challenge. Our decision guidelines are caution, prudence, and good sense. We are sticking to them."

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So, what are the effects of the protective measures against Corona in Germany?

The graphic shows the importance of the timing of intervention
in the Corona epidemic, i.e., arriving on time with mitigation!

Here is a graphic from a scientific report by Jonas Dehning et al. published in Science: Inferring change points in the spread of COVID-19 reveals the effectiveness of interventions.

The Lombardy Nightmare

Red Baron just read an article about the consequences of the Corona wave that swept this Italian province last March. I am shocked.

Almost every family in Lombardy laments a victim of the epidemic, either a mortality or a "survivor," while many of those who recovered are now gravely ill.

One in four Covid-19 patients discharged from the intensive care unit as recovered has to undergo dialysis because his/her kidneys have failed. The lungs are permanently damaged in many cases. Being discharged as recovered from this disease is not the same as being healthy. Relatives and the health care system are facing a backlog of tens of thousands of severely disabled people.

This grim outlook will further complicate the futile discussions of numbers, i.e., who and how many people died of Covid-19.

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