Rapid response infrastructure for pandemic preparedness in a tertiary care hospital: lessons learned from the COVID-19 outbreak in Cologne, Germany, February to March 2020

Affiliations

• ¹ University of Cologne, Department I of Internal Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, Cologne, Germany.
• ² German Center for Infection Research (DZIF), Partner Site Bonn-Cologne, Cologne, Germany.
• ³ University of Cologne, Center for Molecular Medicine Cologne, Cologne, Germany.
• ⁴ These authors contributed equally to this article.
• ⁵ Institute of Virology, Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Cologne, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany.
• ⁶ Cologne Excellence Cluster on Cellular Stress Responses in Aging-Associated Diseases (CECAD), Department I of Internal Medicine, Clinical Trials Centre Cologne (ZKS Köln), University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany.
• ⁷ Department I of Internal Medicine and Center of Integrated Oncology Aachen, Bonn, Köln, Düsseldorf, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany.
• ⁸ Public Health Department Cologne, Cologne, Germany.
• ⁹ Department of Hospital Hygiene and Infection Control, University Hospital Cologne, Cologne, Germany.
• ¹⁰ Department for Clinical Affairs, University of Cologne, Germany.
• ¹¹ Department II of Internal Medicine (Nephrology, Rheumatology, Diabetes, and General Internal Medicine) and Center for Molecular Medicine Cologne, University of Cologne, Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Cologne, Cologne, Germany.
• ¹² University of Cologne, Medical Faculty and University Hospital Cologne, Department of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine, Cologne, Germany.