During the coronavirus outbreak, health experts have been strongly advising people to keep themselves isolated in order to reduce the chances of getting infected with the virus. However, a German mayor – Stephan von Dassel – has done exactly the opposite of this advice and on purpose contracted the virus so that he could then be immune to it.
Meet Stephan von Dassel who is the Berlin District Mayor and has managed to spark a controversy in Germany last week after he admitted to the fact that he consciously contracted the coronavirus from his partner for the sake of self-immunizing himself and thus being able to work while others were off sick. His decision went against the combined agreement of public health experts who have been advising people to practice social-distancing for avoiding the virus.
Stephan von Dassel claims that for him this deliberate contracting of the virus was his contribution toward the long-term goal of getting the curve to flatten out. He also admitted that he underestimated the virus. He said, ‘I was ill longer than I thought. I got infected almost on purpose to develop immunity and thought I’ll be a bit sick for three days and then I’ll be immune — I can’t catch it and won’t pass it on to anyone, but it was a lot worse than I imagined.’
The German mayor’s statement, as was expected, has resulted in starting a heated argument online where many have accused him of being irresponsible. However, Stephan von Dassel has continued his actions and added that perhaps his original statement was not as clear as he would have liked. He explained, ‘Perhaps my statement on the radio today was misleading. But my behavior was and is responsible. I was, am and remain in quarantine, until I’m no longer infectious.’
The Berlin official also tweeted a link to a statement that as published by Berlin Mitte office from Stephan von Dassel that stated that he had been quarantined for 14 days once his partner was tested positive for the COVID-19 and that living in such close proximity to someone who has been infected, catching the virus himself would have been next to impossible anyway.
The German mayor concluded, ‘Since infection with a common home quarantine for 14 days is hardly avoidable despite all precautionary measures, I consciously accepted to catch it quickly.’
