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Heinsberg Study Controversy

tschuetz

The district of Heinsberg was the first and hardest-hit region in Germany (250,000 inhabitants, 1615 infections, 55 deaths). In early March, scientists launched a wide-ranging household study in the community of Gangelt, turning the region into a COVID-19 "laboratory" for further predictions. In mid-April, the leading virologist Hendrick Streeck announced that the infection rate was at 15 percent, indicating the beginning of "herd immunity." He was criticized by Christian Drosten, a well-known virologist based in Berlin, for early publication of the findings, which he considered too vague.