German institute: Strict steps needed to avoid millions of coronavirus cases
File Photo: People wait outside a newly opened coronavirus disease (Covid-19) clearing up center in Berlin, Germany March 9, 2020. Reuters/Michele Tantussi
Without the strict social distancing measures announced on Monday, Germany could face millions of coronavirus cases, the Robert Koch public health agency president said on Tuesday.
"We want to avoid that," he said, adding the institute was raising the risk level in Germany to "high". He also said hospitals would have to at least double their intensive care capacity as one in five cases was serious.
"We do not yet know what the death rate will look like in the end," he told reporters. The institute's researchers expected it would take some two years for the pandemic to run its course, he added.
