German Doctors Are Posing Naked To Protest Against The Shortage Of PPEs

By Samantha in News On 29th April 2020
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#1

One of the few countries that have received praise for their handling of COVID-19 patients is Germany. The country of 83 million has had 159,239 cases and 6,177 deaths. Compare that to the United States which has about four times the people but more than six times the cases and nine times the deaths.

via Blanke Bedenken

Having a structural advantage over the US, Germany implemented very strict social distancing measures at the beginning of the lockdown. Thanks to its balanced budget, Germany was able to support its citizens and businesses during the pandemic crises.

#2

On the other hand, the U.S. federal government was already in a mountain of debt and its healthcare system under-serves a large portion of the population.

via Blanke Bedenken

"This is a crisis which, on the one hand, has probably hit the U.S. where it is most vulnerable, namely health care," said Carsten Brzeski, ING bank's chief Eurozone economist. "While at the same time it has hit the German economy where it's the strongest."

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#3

In the midst of all this, there is one area in Germany that has been hit badly by the virus and is also facing a shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE) for its healthcare workers.

In a campaign called Blanke Bedenken, which roughly translates as "Bare Concerns," the doctors are protesting the shortage of PPEs by posing naked. They are also encouraging other fellow doctors to take part in protest and help spread the word out.

via Blanke Bedenken
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#4

"We are your GPs. To be able to treat you safely, we need protective gear. When we run out of the little we have, we look like this," the organizers say in a statement on their website. "We are all vulnerable. Medical practices need more support from politics," the Blanke Bedenken group added.

via Blanke Bedenken

The pictures show doctors posing in broad daylight and some even examining patients without clothes and making a strong point.

"The nudity is a symbol of how vulnerable we are without protection," Ruben Bernau, a doctor in the group, said according to The Guardian.

One doctor said she was "trained to sew up wounds" and asked: "Why am I now having to sew my own face mask?"

The idea for this unique protest came from a French doctor who posed naked to protest for the shortage of protective gear. Alain ColombiƩ posed naked with an armband that read "canon fodder" in French in a message directed at French President Emmanuel Macron.

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#5

The shortages are because of the massive worldwide demand says a spokesperson from Germany's federal ministry of health. "Due to the worldwide rapid rise of Covid-19 infection numbers the demand for medical supplies, such as gloves, breathing masks, protective clothing and ventilators, increased. This led to worldwide supply shortages," they told CNN.

via Blanke Bedenken

#6

German authorities are working as fast as they can to ramp up production of PPEs and a recent shipment of 10 million masks from China should help ease the burden.

Healthcare personnel has also reported numerous cases of supply theft at hospitals which they fear may be related to organized crime.

via Blanke Bedenken