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Grünheide (dpa) - According to the Brandenburg state government, the corona outbreak on the large construction site of the factory of the US electric car manufacturer Tesla is under control.
A total of 114 infected people have been counted so far, of which 109 are considered recovered, said the department head in the Ministry of Health, Michael Zaske, on Wednesday in the responsible state parliament committee in Potsdam.
This means that five cases of Covid-19 are known.
Around 2000 employees worked on the construction site every day, at times from 35 subcontractors.
"The infection process is under control," said Zaske.
The first reports of individual cases were on February 13, said the department head. After the suspicion of an accumulation of infections in the first week of March, steps to contain them were determined during a control by the health department of the Oder-Spree district and the ministry. According to his information, the health department reported 25 to 30 infections on March 22. Measures were then agreed during a video conference with Tesla. A rapid test was prescribed at least every two days.
The State Office for Occupational Safety and Health investigates information about exceeding the permitted working hours and allegations about accommodation.
"The question of working hours has been checked, but so far without any defects," said the head of the occupational safety department, Ernst-Friedrich Pernack.
The limit of eight hours had been complied with.
The magazine “Business Insider” as well as “Bild” -Zeitung and “BZ” had reported on excessively long layers of Eastern European workers who were supposed to receive less than the minimum wage.
Tesla has not yet been available for comment.
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"We want to follow up on the indications (...) that the working hours lasted longer," said the head of the unit.
"We also follow up on the indications of accommodation."
The accommodations would be checked, but so far there have been no indications of unworthy conditions.
The occupational health and safety situation is very satisfactory.
In relation to other major construction sites, there were very few deficiencies.
Tesla originally wanted to start producing electric cars in Grünheide in July.
The schedule is unsteady because, according to the State Environment Agency, the application for approval of the project will probably have to be publicly interpreted again because Tesla wants to include a battery factory in the previous application.
Brandenburg has not yet approved the car factory in terms of environmental law.
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210505-99-481662 / 2
Tesla on the planned car factory