Coronavirus in Germany: Information

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Introduction: Coronaviruses (SARS-CoV-2)

This German Way information page is designed to help English-speaking expats and anyone else interested in keeping up with the coronavirus situation worldwide and in Germany and the other two main German-speaking nations (Austria and Switzerland) in Europe. Because the Covid-19 situation in Germany and elsewhere is constantly changing, we also link to several reliable online sources of German and worldwide coronavirus facts and data (in English or German). Note that not all sources agree in the number of cases/deaths. (Continued below.)

JUMP TO | Covid-19 Vocabulary | Covid-19 Cases and Deaths
Covid-19 Cases in Germany | Reopening Measures | Online Info Sources

NOTICE!
As Germany, Europe, and the world enter a new wave of Covid-19 cases and an effort to get more people vaccinated in spring 2021, we are no longer updating the detailed German, European, and international data – but you can use the links we provide to obtain the latest Covid-19 updates from the RKI (Germany) and Johns Hopkins (US) websites.

NEW VOCABULARY!
We’ve added new words and expressions to our German-English Covid-19 Glossary below.

NYT Germany COVID-19 data

This chart indicates COVID-19 cases in Germany since the pandemic began. This April 2021 chart and map (not shown) is from the New York Times. To see the current RKI interactive data click here and scroll down. To see the current version of this map/chart click the link. IMAGE: NYT

Coronavirus and Covid-19
When we say “coronavirus” these days, we actually mean the novel (new) coronavirus called “SARS-CoV-2” that causes the disease named “Covid-19” that is constantly in the daily news. So the disease is Covid-19, the virus is SARS-CoV-2.

Coronaviruses are nothing new. Although they were not discovered and named until the 1960s, coronaviruses have been around and causing the common cold, influenza, and other diseases for centuries. From Wikipedia: “Coronaviruses are a group of viruses that cause diseases in mammals and birds. In humans, coronaviruses cause respiratory tract infections that are typically mild, such as some cases of the common cold (among other possible causes, predominantly rhinoviruses), though rarer forms can be lethal, such as SARS, MERS, and COVID-19. Symptoms vary in other species: in chickens, they cause an upper respiratory tract disease, while in cows and pigs they cause diarrhea. There are yet to be vaccines or antiviral drugs to prevent or treat human coronavirus infections.”

More on The German Way
Park Life in Germany
Erin’s blog post about how she and her family in Berlin are coping with the coronavirus pandemic.

Now let’s move on to some related German/English vocabulary that you may encounter when reading or watching the news about the Covid-19 pandemic.

Wortschatz • Vocabulary

WORT des TAGES • WORD of the DAY > die Impfung (see below)

DEUTSCH • ENGLISH
Covid-19 (die) | Covid-19, the disease caused by the Sars-CoV-2 virus
[COVID-19 or Covid-19 is named for the coronavirus disease discovered in 2019.]
SARS-CoV-2 (das) | the novel coronavirus that causes the Covid-19 disease
[SARS = Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome; CoV-2 = coronavirus 2 > (SARS-CoV-2)]
das neuartige Coronavirus | the novel coronavirus

der Atemschutz | breathing protection (FFP-2/N95 face mask)
die Atemschutzmaske | breathing protection mask (FFP-2/N95 face mask)
>> Also see Mund- und Nasenmaske and the related photo below.
die Ausgangsbeschränkung | limited stay-home order
die Ausgangssperre | lockdown, ban on going out, stay-home order; curfew; confinement to quarters (mil.)
das Beatmungsgerät (-e) | respirator, ventilator (med.)
Bleib daheim! | Stay home!
das Coronavirus/das Virus (pl. Viren) | coronavirus/virus (viruses)
die Covid-19-Erkrankung | Covid-19 disease
dosieren (v.t.) | to measure out in doses; dispense
die Dosis (Dosen) | dose(s)
die Einreisebeschränkung | border controls, limited entry (at borders)
die Epidemie | epidemic
der Fall (Fälle) | case(s)
die FFP2-Maske (-n) | FFP-2 (“filtering face piece,” class 2) mask
>> A European FFP-2 protective mask is the same as an N95 mask in the USA. There are 3 FFP classes.
das Geisterspiel (-e) | sports event played without spectators (“ghost game”)
genesen (adj.) | recovered, recuperated
genesen (v.i.) | to recover, recuperate (from an illness)
der/die Genesene | recovered person, someone who has recovered from an illness
die Genesenen (pl.) | recovered people, people who have recovered from an illness
die Genesung | recovery, recuperation
die Gesichtsmaske (-n) | face mask
der Hamsterkauf (-käufe) | panic buying (“hamster purchases”), hoarding
Hamsterkäufe machen | to panic buy
hamstern (v.) | to panic buy, hoard
das Homeoffice/Home-Office | home office (Duden prefers ‘Homeoffice’)
impfen (v.) | to inoculate, vaccinate
>> sich impfen lassen | to get inoculated/vaccinated
>> Sind Sie schon geimpft? | Have you been vaccinated yet?
der Impfstoff (Impfstoffe) | vaccine(s)
die Impfung (Impfungen) | inoculation(s), vaccination(s)
die Kontaktsperre | ban on contact/assembly
die Kurzarbeit | short work (a German program of unemployment compensation; see more below*)
das Kurzarbeitergeld (KUG) | short-work financial assistance (see more below)
die Pandemie | pandemic
die Mund- und Nasenmaske (-n) | face mask (mouth and nose mask)
der Mund-Nase-Schutz | mouth and nose protection (face mask)
die Quarantäne | quarantine
>> häusliche Quarantäne | home quarantine
die Schutzmaske (-n) | protective mask (see “FFP2-Maske” above)
Todesfälle (pl.) | death cases, deaths
das Vakzin (pl. Vakzine) | vaccine(s)
das Virus (pl. Viren) | virus (viruses)
wieder gesund (adj) | recovered (“healthy again”)

*Kurzarbeit is a temporary reduction in working hours due to a lack of business. The firm reports the situation to the employment office (Arbeitsagentur), which then makes up part of the shortfall in employees’ wages, or — in cases where working hours have been drastically reduced — pays out Kurzarbeitergeld (KUG) amounting to 60-67 percent of an employee’s recent net salary. This measure is intended to help firms through unavoidable short-term economic difficulties: Employees do not have to be dismissed and are ready to resume full-time work as soon as the situation improves. Because of the Covid-19 crisis, until the end of 2020, the time limit for receiving KUG has been extended to 21 months instead of the normal 12 months.
WEB: Arbeitsagentur: Kurzarbeit-FAQ (in German)
Total Reported COVID-19 Cases with Share of the Population

(Selected Countries – Cases and Deaths)
Source: New York Times – DATE: 18 April 2021
EUROPE
GERMANY: 3.142 million (1 in 26) – Deaths: 79,914 (1 in 1,038)
AUSTRIA: 591,397 (1 in 15) – Deaths: 9,870 (1 in 896)
SWITZERLAND: 632,399 (1 in 13) – Deaths: 9,869 (1 in 863)
UNITED KINGDOM: 4.386 million (1 in 15) – Deaths: 127,260 (1 in 522)
ICELAND: 6,286 (1 in 56) – Deaths: 29 (1 in 12,192)
FRANCE: 5.260 million (1 in 13) – Deaths: 100,593 (1 in 666)
ITALY: 3.857 million (1 in 16) – Deaths: 116,676 (1 in 518)
SWEDEN: 900,138 (1 in 11) – Deaths: 12,788 (1 in 739)
SPAIN: 3.407 million (1 in 14) – Deaths: 76,981 (1 in 607)
GREECE: 313,444 (1 in 34) – Deaths: 9,397 (1 in 1,142)
POLAND: 2.676 million (1 in 14) – Deaths: 61,825 (1 in 614)
RUSSIA: 4.64 million (1 in 31) – Deaths: 103,451 (1 in 1,397)
NORTH AMERICA
UNITED STATES: 31.65 million (1 in 10) – Deaths: 566,452 (1 in 586)
CANADA: 1.11 million (1 in 33) – Deaths: 23,591 (1 in 1,571)
MEXICO: 2.304 million (1 in 55) – Deaths: 212,228 (1 in 595)
OCEANIA
AUSTRALIA: 29,513 (1 in 847) – Deaths: 910 (1 in 27,464)
NEW ZEALAND: 2,595 (1 in 1,883) – Deaths: 26 (1 in 187,904)
OTHER
ARGENTINA: 2.678 million (1 in 17) – Deaths: 59,164 (1 in 752)
BRAZIL: 13.9 million (1 in 15) – Deaths: 371,678 (1 in 564)
INDIA: 14.53 million (1 in 93) – Deaths: 175,649 (1 in 7,701)
JAPAN: 531,805 (1 in 238) – Deaths: 9,600 (1 in 13,180)

Covid-19 in Germany and Europe

The current situation in Germany:

See the web links below for current information
We are no longer updating this section. See the websites listed below, where you can find the latest information on the Covid-19 situation in Germany and other parts of the world.

Online Sources of Current Data

More | Expat How-To Guides for Germany

Related Pages
AT THE GERMAN WAY

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