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The last chain of outbreaks on the continent looks completely different. Most of the hotspots are currently found in some of Europe’s poorest areas, often inhabited by ethnic minorities or immigrants working in low-paid but important and economically favorable jobs.
Such a model raises the question: What are governments doing enough for all citizens to understand what basic precautions must be taken to protect themselves and to have those tools in place? It also highlights the failure of several European countries to ensure that even the poorest sectors of society have access to adequate housing and the benefits of job security.
The situation could fuel social and racial tensions if immigrant communities are blamed for carrying the virus.
Five different outbreaks in Europe paint a very similar picture. In Germany, authorities closed the Guetersloh district in North Rhine-Westphalia after hundreds of workers at one of Europe’s largest meat processing plants tested positive for the virus.
The group was largely made up of low-income immigrants from Eastern Europe, all living together in overcrowded employer-provided housing. The German meat industry can circumvent strict rules on working conditions through subcontractors: there should be no such loopholes with the adoption of new laws.
As the UK pulls out of quarantine, shops and non-core schools in Leicester, East Midlands, have been closed for another two weeks. In terms of income shortages in England, Leicester is near the bottom of the ranking.
According to the Leicester City Council, 37 percent. Population: Asians, about 40 percent. the people who live there were born outside the UK. As in the United States, the epidemic highlighted racial inequality in the United Kingdom; The England Public Health Agency found that the risk of dying from COVID-19 is highest in poorer areas and among black, Asian, and other minority groups.
In Italy, the greatest impact of the pandemic was felt in Lombardy, one of the richest regions in the country’s industrial north. But last week in the southern city of Mondragon, near Naples, there was an increase in infections in a high-rise building where a group of Bulgarian immigrants living in seasonal agricultural jobs lived.
The government did not introduce quarantine in the city, but sent troops to ensure strict maintenance of the residential complex. Mondragon is rated as 10 percent. The Italian cities with the highest proportion of immigrants, in addition, this city, at the bottom of the list in terms of the highest declared per capita income.
Such clusters of virus cases have also been reported in Greece and Portugal, countries that have successfully controlled the epidemic. In Greece, in the northern Muslim city of Echino, a local “fast quarantine” was introduced, while in Portugal, 19 quarters in the Lisbon region were affected by the new outbreak. These areas are home to very poor immigrant groups, mostly from Africa.
There may be some compelling explanations for these localized outbreaks. Some immigrants may have brought the virus from countries where it is not yet under control. Poorer communities are unlikely to have adequate access to health care and may not be fully aware of the virus threat and do not know how to protect themselves from it.
And some people probably just don’t want to get tested or see a doctor because they fear having to be quarantined and lose their jobs. In Mondragon, Italy, a group of people who tested positive for the virus escaped for the same reason.
European governments are paying a high price for ignoring these communities, which are often a source of cheap labor, for many years. As a result, many inequalities have emerged in various areas of life, such as education, employment opportunities, or access to housing and health care.
All of this has always threatened prosperity and social cohesion. The new coronavirus has once again exposed such inequalities, this time making it clear how dangerous the vulnerability of these groups can be to public health.
There is also a risk that such outbreaks will lead to deep divisions among the general population. Tensions in Mondragon erupted when a group of people accused immigrants of violating the rules and spreading the virus.
In an attempt to take advantage of the situation and gain a political advantage, Matteo Salvini, the leader of the far-right League Party, went to the area this week to meet the locals, but had to shorten the concentration as he was interrupted by a crowd. rival left.
The government must find a coordinated solution, although it is not easy. They must continue to inform citizens where the virus is most circulating, but in a way that does not harm people’s privacy or demonize entire groups, especially the most vulnerable citizens.
In addition, they must provide timely medical care and support, where necessary, so that individual outbreaks do not become a large threatening ball.
This crisis sends a very important reminder of the shortcomings of European economic and social integration. It will be very difficult to solve these problems in the face of generalized total insecurity.
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