Three Approaches to Handling the COVID-19 Crisis in Federal Countries: Germany, Austria, and Switzerland

Despite their geographical and cultural proximity, Germany, Austria, and Switzerland can teach very different lessons on how to handle the COVID-19 pandemic. Timing and severity of outbreaks were fairly similar in Germany and Austria (see Figures 17.1 through 17.3), whereas Switzerland faced a higher infection rate at the peak of the crisis (although far from rates in France or Italy). Response measures eventually taken by the three countries were not too different, either, but how decisions were made and subsequently communicated to the public varied considerably. In all three countries, containment measures were met by a high level of adherence within the population, as mobility indices illustrate (see Figures 17.1 through 17.3). As a result, the three countries fared well in reducing transmission rates and never came close to reaching capacity limits in their health systems. This chapter aims to examine the outbreak responses of the three countries and give insight into the dynamics and rationales behind these responses.