By Pepi Sappal • Published: 17 Jun 2020 • 21:03
Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel wants to relax restrictions while "containing any local outbreaks". CREDIT: Kuebi via Wikipedia
IT’S one of several outbreaks at the country’s slaughterhouses in just a matter of weeks. The meatpacking plant in question is now closed and all employees have been tested for the disease. Out of a total of 983 Covid-19 test results from workers at the Toennies slaughterhouse in Guetersloh’s Rheda-Wiedenbrueck, 326 tested negative, confirmed health authority officials.
As well as all employees being tested, about 7,000 people are now under quarantine. The country’s health officials have also decided to close schools and child care centres from tomorrow as a safety precaution. However, for now, Germany’s officials have decided against a full-on lockdown.
Commenting on the Guetersloh outbreak, Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel stated: “We see from these outbreaks that the virus isn’t gone.” However, she added that Germany is “far away from an exponential increase,” which is why she prefers to relax restrictions while containing any local outbreaks. “That’s why I very much welcome that, as today in the county of Guetersloh for example, when there is such an accumulation of infections then measures are immediately taken, such as the closure of schools,” explained Merkel.
To date, Germany has registered 188,474 confirmed Covid-19 cases and 8,844 fatalities from the disease since the outbreak began. However, the infection rate has declined sharply nationwide, since social distancing rules were imposed back in March. The country’s daily Covid-19 cases have averaged between 300-400 this month. The Germany health authority also launched its coronavirus tracing app this week, which has been reported to have been downloaded more than six million times in the first 24 hours alone.
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