German expert: Cases create testing, testing doesn't create cases.

[kpete]

Trump keeps saying the US shows worse numbers than Germany because US tests more.

Not at all true. Germany can now test much less because its heavy early testing contained the problem.

German expert: Cases create testing, testing doesn't create cases.

Dr. Hans-Georg Kräusslich, a professor and infectious diseases expert at the University of Heidelberg in Germany, said that the number of tests conducted is generally determined by medical need, specifically the number of people experiencing symptoms -- and since Germany has a low true infection rate, the country does not need to use even close to its full testing capacity.

In other words, Kräusslich said, Trump is arguing that more testing "creates" more cases -- but, in reality, "more symptomatic infections 'create' more testing."

As of Wednesday, Germany, with a population of about 83 million, had 197,341 confirmed cases and 9,036 deaths. The US, with a population about four times larger, had about 15 times as many confirmed cases through Wednesday (3,054,699) and about 15 times as many deaths (132,300).

https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/09/politics/fact-check-coronavirus-cases-donald-trump-testing/index.html

Link to tweet

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