By European standards, Germany has emerged as a shining example of how to deal with a global pandemic. The authorities moved quickly to enact an effective contact-tracing programme, while the country’s impressive healthcare system was better positioned than most to deal with the unprecedented demands of the Covid-19 crisis.
As a result, Berlin imposed fewer lockdown measures over the course of 2020 than many of its European counterparts, while also injecting much-needed fiscal stimulus into the economy. The outcome was that German gross domestic product contracted by just 5% over 2020.
