Timo Lenzen/ DER SPIEGEL
Dear readers,
can you still remember what the corona situation looked like three years ago?
I had to use our archive for this.
Exactly three messages appeared on February 3, 2020 about the then new virus.
Researchers find pathogen genetic material in stool samples
Lufthansa cancels more China flights
Cruise ships refuse passage to China
»When the new type of corona virus broke out, more than 17,000 people in China were proven to be infected. 361 died as a result of the infection, according to the responsible Chinese authority. According to the World Health Organization, there are also 146 cases of illness outside of China, and one person died in the Philippines,"
says the report on the genetic material in stool samples.
17,000 infected, 361 dead (only in China) – how distant these numbers seem.
Shortly thereafter, the virus spread around the world.
Germany went into hard lockdown and for a few weeks we stood on the balcony at nine in the evening and clapped for the nursing staff (now forgotten).
The corona virus also meant a major upheaval for SPIEGEL.
Within a few days, the entire editorial team moved to the home office and the entire production was switched over.
A dedicated daily conference was set up just to talk about the upcoming Corona issues.
And there were many.
Countless articles have appeared on the AstraZeneca vaccine alone.
Today it has long been forgotten.
Are masks even useful?
We also addressed this question several times – and, ironically, recently again.
In order to tame the flood of information and to bundle it for you, our readers, we invented this Corona newsletter.
It should summarize the most important developments, bundle information and articles.
In the meantime, the Corona situation has changed.
The topic remains with us as an editor: Why do some people get Long Covid, others not?
What healing methods are being developed for this and are we working on them?
And how do experts prepare for new pathogens that could spread from animals to humans?
We will continue to address these questions.
But the flood of articles has decreased and the newsletter has lost its purpose as an overview.
You may have also noticed that we initially sent it daily, later weekly – and finally not at all.
We are therefore ending this newsletter until further notice.
At this point we would like to thank you for your interest and your trust in us as your journalistic companion during this crisis.
If, contrary to expectations, the Corona situation worsens again, we will inform you in this way.
Would you also like to be kept up to date with other developments?
Then we have three recommendations for you:
Elementary particles:
every Saturday at 10 a.m. we provide an overview of the most important topics in medicine and biology, from quantum physics to ecology, psychology and genetic engineering to mobility and environmental protection.
(Subscribe here)
The situation in the morning:
Your opinion-strong news briefing at 6 a.m.: What is important today - and what to make of it.
Political, analytical, topical.
(Subscribe here)
The situation in the evening:
Your current news update at 6 p.m.: What was really important today - and what it means.
Pointed, personal, compact.
(Subscribe here)
Farewell: The end of the mask requirement
End of the corona measures: is this Freedom Day now?
Masks will no longer be compulsory on public transport from February 2nd.
Which rules still apply - and when the pandemic will finally be over.
Personal responsibility after Corona: put something on to be on the safe
side The pandemic is stagnating.
And many Germans are again coughing and sneezing in each other's faces without protection.
Why aren't we as smart as the people of Thailand, for example?
Abolition of the mask requirement: discontinued
The pandemic brought an accessory into everyday life that hardly left anyone cold: the mask.
Now the obligation to wear falls everywhere.
An obituary in pictures - with a hidden smile.
Distorted interpretation of study data: what has the mask requirement achieved?
According to an analysis by the renowned Cochrane Collaboration, the effectiveness of masks against the spread of the virus has not been proven.
The excitement is great - rightly so?
What is really in the study.
Seen this way: Remnants
What to do with the remnants of the pandemic?
The consequences of school closures
New international study: 35 percent less learning progress due to Corona
Children and young people worldwide learned significantly less during the pandemic than before.
Particularly affected: children from poorer countries and families.
That shows a new data analysis.
Corona and the consequences: More depression among young people due to school closures
According to a new study, schoolchildren showed 75 percent more depressive symptoms during the lockdown – a dramatic increase.
Experts demand accompanying offers in addition to the lessons.
Corona measures: Lauterbach is critical of school closures in retrospect
When looking back at the school closures, the Minister of Health is subtly self-critical - but he still does not want to ask for forgiveness.
Lauterbach refers to scientific findings.
What else was important
Late effects of corona: the fear of an immune deficiency due to Covid-19
The extreme wave of colds in recent months has fueled the suspicion that Covid-19 has a lasting effect on the immune system.
Immunologists disagree with this assumption – but there are exceptions.
Only “moderate”: RKI downgrades corona
risk Transmission, severity of disease, resource burden: the most intense time of the corona virus is over for the time being.
The Robert Koch Institute is now also responding with an assessment – but this is not final yet.
World Health Organization: Corona pandemic remains a global health
emergency The WHO has decided that the “emergency of international scope” due to Corona will remain in place for the time being.
In the past eight weeks, 170,000 people worldwide have died in connection with Covid-19.
Have a nice weekend
Yours, Mikhail Hengstenberg
