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The news is more than alarming. 129 employees of a meat processing plant in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia tested positive for coronavirus. 13 of them were admitted to the hospital. According to the Robert Koch Institute, Kosfeld County, where the plant is located, has exceeded the limit of 50 new infections per 100,000 inhabitants.
For this reason, the North Rhine-Westphalia Ministry of Health has recommended that local authorities evaluate all slaughterhouse workers as soon as possible, including contract workers with another EU country. Among the measures is an inspection of hygiene and living conditions in the bedrooms where foreigners stay.
Foreign workers are particularly at risk
An inspection must also be carried out on the accommodation of seasonal agricultural workers, who have been allowed to work in Germany again since April.
In North Rhine-Westphalia, they are required to live in dormitories on the premises of the company where they work and the premises are half-occupied.
The State of Saxony-Anhalt will also evaluate all employees in slaughterhouses, as well as all seasonal workers. This was announced by the Minister of Health of the province Petra Grim-Bene. According to her, most employers still do not apply the necessary hygiene measures and safety standards.
Foreign workers in the meat processing industry and agriculture are particularly vulnerable to coronavirus infection. They often live in dorms whose rooms are overcrowded, increasing the risk of the infection spreading.
In the state of North Rhine-Westphalia alone, there are 35 large slaughterhouses that employ almost 20,000 people, most of them foreigners from Eastern Europe. A few days ago, the magazine SPIEGEL wrote that there are more than 600 workers in the meat processing industry in Germany who have been infected with the coronavirus.
Several factories have already stopped production.
There were also 300 infected Mueller Fleisch employees in the state of Baden-Württemberg. However, production there could continue because authorities believe the usual safety and hygiene measures will be sufficient to prevent the spread of the infection.
However, Fion in Schleswig-Holstein has closed its production facilities. According to local authorities, 109 employees tested positive for coronavirus on Thursday (7.5). All factory workers are under quarantine. Westflysch in Kosfeld will also have to be closed by order of the provincial health minister, Karl-Josef Laumann.
Federal and local authorities in Germany agreed on Wednesday that many of the restrictions on public life imposed by the Kovid-19 crisis would be lifted. If the number of new infections exceeds the limit of 50 cases per 100,000 people, the measures will be reinforced again.
Germany
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