Corona critics play down the novel corona virus and call on citizens to sign petitions against the protective measures. The aim is to keep the mortality rate low or reduce it.

Time and again, one encounters people who believe that the novel corona virus SARS-CoV-2 is harmless and no worse than a common flu-like illness. These statements are often met with incomprehension in view of the current situation, which is a burden on the health, economy and social situation of many people.

Among the critics of Corona and the measures taken by the German government are nationally known doctors such as Wolfgang Wodarg. Wodarg receives backing from politicians, for example from former CDU member of parliament Vera Lengsfeld, who called on Twitter to sign a petition to repeal all measures against the current pandemic. She wrote: "The current flu wave caused by the corona virus Covid-19 is demonstrably less dangerous than other flu waves, as can be seen, for example, from the case numbers that the Robert Koch Institute publishes daily. According to this, on 25 March 2020 the number of infected persons was 31,554, the number of deaths 149".

Experts are critical of the fact that Vera Lengsfeld is not only making factual mistakes in her statement because the corona virus is called SARS-CoV-2 and the resulting disease COVID-19. In addition, a pandemic that has just begun cannot be compared with a completed wave of influenza. It is not possible to foresee how the rapidly increasing numbers around the world will turn out in a few months' time and what role the protective measures taken will play in this. However, the Spanish flu that raged in 1918 and 1919 is a good example of how isolation measures have reduced the illness and death rate by up to 50 percent.

In global comparison, the mortality rate in Germany is very low, which is also due to the high level of medical expertise in intensive care medicine and the good care of the sick. It is essential not to overburden the healthcare system in order to continue to provide top-quality care for patients, in order to avoid mortality rates that are significantly higher in Germany than in Italy, for example.

Experts emphasize that the aim is not to scare people, but to find a way to help as many people as possible emerge from the crisis unscathed. However, there are warnings against taking the virus and its effects lightly, as it is highly contagious and, unlike the flu, there are no basic immunities or vaccinations.