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The five lands that make up most of East Germany are among the regions of Germany least affected by the pandemic. Berlin, which was once politically divided, is doing a little worse.
So far, there are no scientific studies to analyze this phenomenon. But virologists, economists and politicians say it can be explained in part by the still existing differences between East and West, united in 1990. Factors unfavorable for East Germany, such as aging and a less prosperous population, may have helped protect against COVID- 19.
“It is surprising that the differences formed according to the previous borders. But at least once, the East has an advantage, “said researcher Hajo Zeeb from the Leibniz Institute for Preventive Research and Epidemiology in Bremen.
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Fewer vacationers?
The eastern part of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern has the lowest incidence in Germany: 100 per thousand. The population has 75 cases of infection, seven times less than in Bavaria. No deaths related to COVID-19 have been reported in the regional capital, Schwerin, according to the WSJ.
The latest post-reunification government report, released in September, says the east has moved west, but significant differences remain. In the east, per capita gross domestic product (GDP) in 2019 was 79 percent. national average, and only 73%. average excluding Berlin.
East Germany is less populated than the West, with more rural areas and a lack of industrial centers and large corporations. Economically, this has been a weakness for a long time, but it has become a strength in the event of a pandemic.
Compared economically to the East and West over the past 30 years, population growth has remained uneven. Between 1990 and 2019, around 2.2 million people left East Germany. population, the majority went in search of work to the western part of the country. Saxony-Anhalt, for example, lost roughly its population on Thursday, while West Germany’s population grew by around 5.4 million. people. In part, this number has increased due to immigration.
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Furthermore, the East German population is larger. Zeeb believes this may explain the lower number of infections, as both last winter and now in Germany, the virus is spreading mainly among young people. In the eastern states, the average age of the population is 47 years, the national average is 44.5 years.
According to some researchers, the low population density does not explain why cities like Rostock, Leipzig or Dresden have fewer cases of infection than cities of similar size in West Germany.
According to virologist Emil Reisinger, the most likely explanation is that East Germans travel less abroad. The main airports are centered in business centers such as Munich and Frankfurt. The distance from the Alps means that fewer East Germans travel to ski to Austria and northern Italy, from where the virus spread last winter, writes the Wall Street Journal.
Kerstin Weiss WSJ, a district administrator in northern Schwerin, said the median income in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern is the lowest in Germany, which means residents have less money for expensive vacations.
Many local politicians argued that the fact that East Germany was not significantly affected at the start of the virus pandemic allowed it to be better prepared.
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“We announced the quarantine before the first wave came,” Schwerin Mayor Rico Badenschier told the Wall Street Journal. When the first case of contagion was registered in the city on March 11, there were already 120 in Bavaria and schools in both countries were closed on March 16.
Rostock Mayor Claus Ruhe Madsen canceled the grand concert the day after two cases of coronavirus infection were identified in the city. Furthermore, the extremely popular carnivals in the Catholic West, which did not take place in the predominantly Protestant or atheist East, proved to have made a significant contribution to the mass outbreaks.
In April, the eastern city of Jena became the first in Germany to wear masks. According to a study from the University of Mainz, this has helped limit the spread of the virus, writes the Wall Street Journal.
On April 23, CRMadsen declared Rostock a “coronavirus-free city” – two new cases of infection over two weeks. According to the mayor, his phone is changing calls: people even from countries as far away as Brazil wanted to know how he did it, writes the WSJ.
No new cases were detected in Šverinė from mid-May to mid-July, so the test center was temporarily closed here. At that time, the number of infections began to rise again in East Germany, mainly due to the return of tourists. However, politicians assure that the situation is under control.
Cultural differences
According to the WSJ, the lower incidence of coronavirus in the East can be explained by cultural differences. E-Reisinger, an Austrian virologist living in Rostock, said that people hugged much less often than in their homeland.
Researcher Till Hilmar from the University of Bremen testified that the study showed that the generation of East Germans who grew up during the communist era were socially “cooler” than West Germans. Furthermore, according to Hillmar, sociological studies show that they are more inclined to accept government interference in their lives.
VIDEO: The artist scoffed at the glasses problem: he presents a mask with an imitation of steaming soup.
Whatever the reasons for the lower number of COVID-19 cases, economists say the structural weaknesses that have hampered the East German economy could help it mitigate the damage caused by the pandemic.
The Munich-based Ifo Institute for Economic Research predicts that GDP will shrink 5.9 percent in East Germany, compared with 6.7 percent nationally. Mainly due to the accumulation of a greater proportion of the heavily affected industry in the West.
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