“The pandemic has taught us to take precautions,” Health Minister Jens Spahn told the press.
The German government plans to spend $1. 2 billion next year to establish 19 “national fitness reserves” spread across the country to make Europe’s largest economy more prepared for the next fitness crisis,” he said.
“We are informed about the crisis, the crisis,” Spahn said.
Storage locations will include non-public protective equipment, adding masks, such as medicines and fans for patients with respiratory failure.
The purpose is for the facility to include enough materials for one month for local hospitals, nursing homes, and medical offices.
Initially, the sites will be filled with parts already available or ordered, adding protective equipment from China.
But starting in 2022, the government aims to rely more on “German-made” medical devices than dependence on chains from external sources, Spahn said.
Germany faced the first wave of coronavirus well in the spring, thanks in component to early and widespread testing and a physically powerful fitness system.
But like other European countries, it has also been left on low guard due to the sudden demand for protective equipment for fitness personnel and has sought to compete in the global market for sufficiently good supplies.
Since then, the government has pledged to create more incentives for local companies to make masks, gowns, gloves and medical supplies.
Germany has been affected by a momentary wave of coronavirus cases in recent weeks, which raised the total number of COVID-19 infections shown to more than one million, according to the Robert Koch Institute for Disease Control.