Germany extends confinement in district hit by COVID-19 at slaughterhouse

BERLIN (Reuters) – The state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) in western Germany said on Monday that, as a precaution, it would prolong the closure of one of the two districts affected by an outbreak of coronavirus in a slaughterhouse.

NRW Prime Minister Armin Laschet said restrictions on keeping bars, museums, galleries, cinemas, sports halls, gyms and swimming pools closed would remain in place in the Guetersloh district for the time being, even though the outbreak was under control.

A closure will be lifted Tuesday in the neighboring Warendorf district because the number of positive tests there was less than in Guetersloh.

Some 600,000 people in both municipalities were forced to lock themselves up again on June 23 after more than 1,500 workers at a meat processing plant tested positive for COVID-19, as well as some of their relatives and 24 people with no ties to the plant.

“We see that the situation is improving day by day, but as a precaution we will wait for more tests to be carried out and then we will decide if we can lift it,” Laschet said at a press conference.

Laschet, a leading conservative contender to succeed Chancellor Angela Merkel when her fourth term in office expires next year, said the situation was brought under control due to widespread evidence and restrictive measures.

The outbreak at the slaughterhouse has sparked debate about regulations in Germany’s food industry and its dependence on migrant labor, particularly from Romania.

Agriculture Minister Julia Kloeckner said last week that Germany was moving towards the introduction of an animal welfare tax, one of several measures aimed at cleaning up the meat trade.

As of July 1, meat processing companies in NRW with more than 100 workers must evaluate all employees twice a week, NRW Health Minister Karl-Josef Laumann said at Monday’s press conference. .