Germany turns its worst-hit city into life-size 'laboratory' to study & contain COVID

As the entire world grapples with the novel Coronavirus which has taken the world hostage, Germany has gone a step ahead in combating the deadly pandemic by announcing a first of its kind study by using its worst-hit city as a 'real-life laboratory'.

Heinsberg, a district in North Rhine-Westphalia bordering the Netherlands, has witnessed the maximum number of COVID-19 positive cases in Germany. Heinsberg which houses about 2,50,000 residents has reported 1,281 confirmed infections and 34 deaths, while 550 people have recovered so far. It is articulated that Heinsberg is two to two-and-a-half weeks ahead as compared to the rest of the country in the advancement and spread of the virus.

READ | Coronavirus Outbreak: Germany Could Face Italy Like Pressure, Warns Health Officials

READ | Germany Appears To Have Lowered The Coronavirus Death Rate

Over the coming weeks, the district will be used by leading virologists and a team of 40 medical students as a sort of laboratory for studying the virus. The “COVID-19 case cluster study”, launched on Tuesday morning, will study a set of 1,000 people who have been chosen as a sample for the German population. The scientists would go to households, kindergartens as well as hospitals to identify the range of mediums through which the virus is spread and also research on how it can be contained.

Germany has reported over 71,000 positive cases with 775 casualties due to the virus. The deadly Coronavirus outbreak that originated in China last year has spread across 197 countries across the world. Presently, there are over 8,58,000 confirmed global cases of the COVID-19 infection which has led to the death of nearly 42,000 people worldwide. As there is no vaccine or specific antiviral medicine to treat COVID-19, countries have been grappling with all possible mechanisms to contain its spread. So far, Italy, Iran, Spain and the US have witnessed the most number of confirmed cases of the Novel Coronavirus. China the originator of the virus has somehow managed to contain its spread.

READ | Germany To Continue With Nationwide Shutdown As Coronavirus Cases Spike

READ | Germany Sends Plane To Rescue Stranded Tourists From Nepal