Corona talk at Illner: protective mask dealer accuses Spahn of failure - viewers see red

In the Corona crisis, Maybrit Illner was concerned about the lack of protective materials. It became clear that the Ministry of Health missed the development by several weeks.

• The ZDF talk of “Maybrit Illner” featured the Coronavirus * pandemic on Thursday evening.
• A face mask wholesaler alleged Jens Spahn.
• Corona virus: our guide through reporting *
  

Berlin - Maybrit Illner's Thursday evening saw the lack of protective clothing in Germany due to the corona crisis . The moderator herself summed it up: "One of the best health systems in the world seems to fail due to disposable items".

The members of the Bundestag and health politicians Andrew Ullmann (FDP) and Karl Lauterbach (SPD) could not dispel this fear. "We calculated a bit very tightly in preparation for this pandemic," admits Ullmann. For example, he knew from the university clinic in his hometown of Würzburg that only protective gowns were available for almost two weeks. "The numbers are worrying."

Maybrit Illner (ZDF): Lauterbach fears a dramatic situation if the corona situation in the USA becomes even more serious

Lauterbach finds it "embarrassing" for Germany that the Heinsberg district administrator Stephan Pusch in China has to ask directly for protective articles. The SPD health expert recorded a threatening scenario: In the near future, one would have to "fear a gigantic shortage of material globally". Lauterbach fears that this situation will occur if the coronavirus pandemic * spreads properly in the United States in a few weeks. “If the Americans get the problem really hard, they will try to buy the market empty with massive money and stock power. Until then we have to be prepared. "

Nurse at Maybrit Illner (ZDF): No cannon fodder in the corona pandemic

Nurse Yvonne Falckner is directly affected by the lack of protective masks. She and her colleagues do not want to be “cannon fodder”. For this reason, she also wrote a petition to Jens Spahn, to whom hundreds of thousands have joined. "If we have to work unprotected in the facilities, we can become infected and die from it." She cites tragic cases in China, Italy and Spain as examples. In Germany, too, an elderly nurse was infected and had to fight for her life in an intensive care unit.

Respirator wholesaler at Illner is outraged at Jens Spahn: "We had six weeks!"

The Allgäu respiratory protection and mouth protection wholesaler Achim Theiler from the company "Franz Mensch GmbH" raised serious allegations against Health Minister Jens Spahn and his ministry. Theiler had already written a letter to the Ministry of Health on February 5, pointing out the critical situation. The background was the export stop of protective masks * in China, which produces over 90 percent of the protective materials. Dramatic delivery bottlenecks had already emerged at this point. It was clear to Thiele: "This will be critical!" But the letter to Jens Spahn remained unanswered, as did a later email.

"For us it is not understandable that we are so incredibly poorly prepared," said the wholesaler. "We had six weeks!" At the time, Spahn still claimed that Germany was well prepared for the corona virus. When Illner asked if he had to fear seizures by the state, the wholesaler just laughed. What should the state seize - "there is nothing in our warehouse!" Thiele demanded that protective masks would have to be produced in Germany in the future - or that at least the know-how needed to be available.

“Maybrit Illner” viewers react horrified to accusations of protective mask against Jens Spahn

Many spectators reacted horrified to what the wholesaler said. "What I am hearing from Mr. Theiler at Illner is really good for a committee of inquiry," wrote one on Twitter. Another Twitter user reacted similarly: "Whoever listens to Mr. Theiler is surprised that Spahn and other failures are still in office!" Another viewer tweeted that the "full failure" of the Ministry of Health had been revealed.

What I just hear from Mr. Theiler (German manufacturer of protective masks) at #Illner is really good for a committee of inquiry. Apparently @JensSpahn completely ignored all warnings about the imminent shortage of protective clothing in February. #maybritillner

#Illner shows the full failure of the #health ministry that preventive measures have never been taken - even when it was already foreseeable that a lack of masks, respirators, etc. would arise. While #Spahn spoke of “well prepared”. #Neoliberalism kills https://t.co/Yu898Wmm6u

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has tested positive for coronavirus.

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