With Markus Lanz (ZDF): "Collapses like house of cards" - Virologist Streeck disappointed by the RKI

Virologist Hendrik Streeck criticized the Robert Koch Institute and the German government for Markus Lanz. An important study has so far been missed.

• Experts need data to take measures against the spread of the coronavirus *.
• The Robert Koch Institute has so far been a guide for many decisions - but the criticism is growing louder.
• At Markus Lanz (ZDF) , a virologist is now presenting a new study .
• The guide to our corona virus reporting *. Here you will find current Corona case numbers from Germany * and the world as well as a Bavaria map for the Corona numbers *.
  

Mainz - Measures taken by the federal government and the individual federal states to contain the coronavirus need data - to check the effectiveness and to think about times and types of loosening.

Virologist Hendrik Streeck has now stated on the ZDF talk show "Markus Lanz" that the data used as the basis could be unreliable. His accusation goes above all to the Robert Koch Institute , which simply missed the opportunity to collect important data - criticism of the RKI had already become louder in the past few days.

Corona crisis with Markus Lanz: Virologist doubts transmissions at the hairdresser or in the restaurant

Hendrik Streeck is the head of virology at the Bonn University Hospital and thus the successor to Christian Drosten *, Germany's currently best known virologist. At Markus Lanz, he drew a different picture than that of months of waiver and restrictions: With the right data, you could talk about exit strategies - because he considers many measures taken to be very drastic as a citizen. On the basis of good data - on mortality rates or infection routes *, for example - it is possible to make important decisions better: “We talk a lot about speculation and model calculations. But only one factor has to be wrong and then the whole thing collapses like a house of cards. "

“We know that it is not a smear infection that is transmitted by touching objects, but that dancing close to one another and celebrating with exuberance has already led to infections. Now it is important to find the nuances in between. ”For him, it is very questionable whether transmissions can even take place when visiting a hairdresser or a restaurant and whether it is not possible to prevent infections in other retail outlets (except in the food sector) with good precautionary measures.

ZDF talk by Markus Lanz: Virologist conducts corona study himself - because Robert Koch Institute does not act

According to his own statement, Hendrik Streeck has since seen the most COVID-19 patients in Germany because he was asked by the Ministry of the Interior in NRW to take over the diagnosis and went from household to household.

Good morning, Gangelt! #hsbestrong # COVID19 #Coronafighters @RSchmithausen @HygieneBonn pic.twitter.com/PKgYQyQcnS

His first study was the study that revealed that patients reported loss of smell and taste. After this first study, he learned that the Robert Koch Institute did not conduct any studies in the strongholds of COVID-19 sufferers - and he was very surprised. Together with other specialists from the Bonn University Clinic , he is now carrying out one himself in order to obtain reliable data. In doing so, he wants to ensure that measures that must be taken in the long term are based on clear facts.

He does not express loud criticism , but it always sounds that he thinks decisions are premature and others are belated. This applies to both the federal government and the Robert Koch Institute . In general, in his opinion, many measures could be too drastic, but on the other hand too little work was being done to make the measures evaluable.

As a virologist, he has a specialty other than Drosten : While Drosten is familiar with the properties of the virus itself, he and his colleagues follow what the virus does to people. To bring the existing knowledge together, a round table with experts is necessary - which unfortunately has not yet existed.

In Bavaria, Markus Söder makes the corona crisis a top priority - and takes action to criticize health minister Melanie Huml. A clinic in Munich has to be quarantined due to numerous corona cases. *

* Merkur.de is part of the Germany-wide Ippen-Digital editors network.