• Germany, more than a thousand infections in the slaughterhouse outbreak
  • Germany, new slaughterhouse outbreak: 657 infected

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June 21, 2020 Among the employees of the slaughterhouse in Guetersloh, in North Rhine Westphalia, another 300 cases of contagion from Covid-19 were found today, bringing the total number of infections to 1,331, out of a total of 6,139 workers.

Land authorities visited the site which has become the epicenter of a new outbreak of infection, fearing a second wave of infection. However, contrary to media reports, North Rhine Westphalia Prime Minister Armin Laschet has ruled out a new regional lockdown for the time being after visiting the slaughterhouse. Although there is a "huge pandemic risk", the infection is clearly localized within the slaughterhouse and there is no "significant jump" in the rest of the population, Laschet said.

All slaughterhouse employees have been placed in quarantine, but the measure may not be sufficient, because in the meantime the thousands of workers may have in turn infected their family and friends, who in turn may have spread the virus. The discovery of the outbreak triggered a wave of protests against the owner of the plant, Clemens Toennies, whose resignation is being requested.

In the meantime, federal health authorities have released the new outbreak report. In the last 24 hours 687 new cases have been confirmed, bringing the total to 189.822. There were over 8,880 deaths.