In February 2019, a senior employee of Germany’s Health Minister, Jens Spahn, took part in an international pandemic tabletop exercise organised by privately funded US institutions. A year later, the same official recommended to several state secretaries of the Federal Ministry of the Interior to prepare lockdown measures – which were not included in any official pandemic plan. He has refused to comment on this matter. Research shows that an international biosecurity network was very active shortly before the crisis broke out.
