T A K I N G A C T I O N CCough, fever, congestion and an impaired sense of taste or smell are some of the symptoms that people with COVID-19 present. An overburdened health system, economic downturn, insolvencies and un- employment are the symptoms of affected societies. And all of them are affected, all over the world, with no exception. No matter how great the obliga- tion all countries have to protect their citizens and their economies, there is little they can do alone to control the corona pandemic. That is why the Ger- man government is pursuing three goals in the fight against COVID-19. First of all, it wants to protect the health of its citizens and maintain the capacity of its health system. Second, it wishes to dampen the effects on people, employees and businesses. And third, it aims to overcome the pandemic with international cooperation. It has been a rather suc- cessful strategy until now. At least, that is in the view of the Organization for Economic Cooper- ation and Development (OECD), which has ac- knowledged the effectiveness of the measures taken against the pandemic and its effects by Germany’s federal and state authorities – also in comparison to the responses of other countries. It particularly em- phasised the strength of the health system and the provision of additional capacities as the pandemic took its course. When the pandemic broke out, Germany responded especially swiftly and increased its test capacities. Furthermore, the country had access to the highest number of intensive care beds in the European Union and was comparatively well staffed with doctors and nurses. This probably ex- plains why, according to figures published by Johns Hopkins University, Germany recorded approxi- mately 690 deaths per one million inhabitants at the end of January 2021, while the totals in other countries were more than twice as high. Protecting health and avoiding infection Worldwide, the task of protecting people’s health turned into a race against time during 2020 and at the beginning of 2021. On one hand, it has been important to keep the number of infections as low as possible to guarantee the best possible treatment of patients in a health system that has not become overburdened. On the other hand, enormous efforts have been made to develop and produce vaccines and to vaccinate the population to combat not the disease and its effects, but its spread and the pathogen R E H T E G O T A N O R O C G N I T H G I F 1 8 I 1 9 itself. That is why both in spring 2020 and winter 2020/2021 the Federal Government agreed lock- downs with the German states which the states then implemented to varying degrees. This is because the Federal Government does not have the right to make these decisions alone in Germany’s federal system. These measures have encroached deeply on people’s lives and put a considerable strain on the economy. Economic output has fallen by roughly 5% – after a ten-year period of continuous growth. Mitigating the impacts on individuals and the economy Because the two lockdowns aimed to reduce the number of personal contacts, they had an especially severe impact on the parts of the economy and pub- lic life that live from direct personal interaction: childcare centres, schools and universities, the non- food retail trade and many services as well as restaur- ants, cinemas, theatres, museums and zoos. Federal and state governments therefore made extraordinary efforts to cushion the economic consequences of the corona crisis and, specifically, the effects of the lock- downs. At the same time, they attempted, as Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel put it, “to create resilient foundations for sustainable economic growth in the future”. A brief look at the various programmes to support businesses, employees and other institutions shows how comprehensive the efforts of the Federal Government have been. For example, assistance is being provided by legislation to secure employment (Beschäftigungssicherungsgesetz), which facilitates and finances short-time working. Direct payments have also been made under the auspices of an ex- traordinary economic assistance programme (Aus- serordentliche Wirtschaftshilfe). Programmes have been set up to safeguard apprenticeships (Ausbil- dungsplätze sichern) and to protect suppliers against payment defaults (Schutzschirm für Lieferketten). Over 900 inclusive businesses that employ people with disabilities are also receiving special grants. There is a programme to support sports clubs (Corona hilfen Profisport), and a rescue programme is providing assistance for cinemas, theatres and music festivals (Neustart Kultur). These Federal Government support measures are also being sup- plemented by state projects. A key concern of the Federal Government is providing support for families when schools and childcare centres are closed or only working to a very limited extent. In addition to direct payments to families, the rules on taking time off work to provide childcare and parents’ entitlement to in- come support for such periods have been adjusted to meet the new situation. In an international com- parison, the OECD has praised these economic measures as a successful policy for overcoming the 5% is how much GDP fell in Ger many dur ing corona year 2020 – after 10 years of eco nomic growth.