could it be because Germany’s neighbors shut their borders long before Germany shut theirs? (5,000 cases Mar 15 - 162,000 cases rounded April 28)
but, is Germany actually paralleling France? 5,000 cases Mar 15, April 28 166,000 cases (rounded)
Germany was aggressive with its social distancing - crowds of one or fewer :) - and they have been reporting deaths as what ever the comorbidity CCP-19 kicked into high gear happened to be rather than CCP-19.