The regional Parliament of the North Rhine-Westphalia land in Germany has decided to send medical staff to test the inhabitants of the area near the slaughterhouse where over 1,300 workers, half of them being Romanians, have tested positive for Coroanvirus. At the same time, the German officials asked the foreign workers not to leave the country.
The state PM of the land, Armin Laschet, has decided following a meeting of the crisis cell on Sunday, to send mobile testing crews for the inhabitants in the region, 40 teams of public health employees, Red Cross volunteers and translators to facilitate the dialogue with the foreign workers.
Armin Laschet said it is a huge risk of contagion in that area, yet he decided not to quarantine the towns where the slaughterhouse’s workers are living now.
The state premier of North Rhine-Westphalia believes the outbreak can still be contained through a localized quarantine. “Should this change, a comprehensive lockdown in the region may also become necessary,” said Laschet on Friday in Düsseldorf.
He also called on the foreign workers not to leave Germany, telling them to be patient to be tested, while assuring them they will get the best treatment in the hospitals in Germany.
His call comes after 17 Romanians have fled the quarantine.
The Romanian Foreign Affairs Ministry (MAE) reported that representatives of the Consulate General of Romania in Bonn had taken urgent steps with the local authorities and the meat processing company in Rheda-Wiedenbruck locality, asking them to take action in the case of the workers infected with COVID-19.
Other Romanians clash with the Police in another quarantined residential compound
On another hand, 200 kilometers away from the slaughterhouse where the Romanian workers had tested positive for COVID-19, other Romanians have been involved in a different row, after their residential compound, accommodating around 700 people, had been quarantined after120 people in the building had been infected with the novel coronavirus.
Angry that they were not informed about the quarantine in due time, the residents of the building clashed with the police forces, throwing stones and other objects at the policemen who were enclosing the building with metallic fences.
At least 100 people tried to break the security cordon, and attempted to climb the walls.
The Police has eventually used tear gas against the crowd.
The entire building will be under quarantine until at least June 25.