The Spread of the Coronavirus in Germany: Socio-Economic Factors and Consequences

The novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) first identified in China in January and the respiratory disease it causes, COVID-19, have spread around the world within a matter of weeks. To prevent the medical and health system from becoming overwhelmed by patients in need of treatment, efforts are being made to slow the spread of the disease over as long a period as possible. Due to the expected increase in the number of new infections, further measures and guidelines can be expected in the coming weeks and months that will affect virtually all aspects of people's lives in Germany. Urgent questions arise as to the medical and health impacts of the virus; the social, psychological, economic, and political factors that affect its spread; and the consequences thereof-questions that cannot currently be investigated due to the lack of a generalizable database. The planned research project aims to investigate the acute, medium-term, and long-term socio-economic factors in and consequences of the spread of the coronavirus in Germany. Based on standardized telephone surveys of a representative sample of Germany's will focus on subjective experiences, on how informed the population is, on how people are handling the crisis at an individual level, and on identifying the individual and social factors that play a role in this crisis and the consequences thereof. The survey will cover the following topics: a) health behavior and health inequality, b) labor market and economic situations, c) social life, networks, and mobility, d) mental health and well-being, and e) social cohesion.