The PM of the federal state of North-Westphalia in Germany, Armin Laschet, has stated that it was the Romanians and Bulgarians who brought the Coronavirus in Germany recently, and not the lift of restrictions. The official said the COVID-19 virus would have spread due to the accommodation and working conditions of the Romanians and Bulgarians.
His reaction comes after a new outbreak of COVID-19 had been confirmed in a slaughterhouse in this region. At least 400 workers here have tested positive for coronavirus, which prompted the suspension of the unit’s activity and led to schools closure in the region.
“This has nothing to do with relaxing measures, as the virus was brought by the Romanians and Bulgarians. This will happen everywhere. We have similar measures all around Germany. We had COVID-19 cases in an asparagus farm in Bavaria several weeks ago, we have the case of the Coesfeld slaughterhouse. All these are not prompted by the lift of the restrictions, but by the accommodation and working conditions of the employees,” Laschet said.
The Romanian Foreign Ministry has confirmed on Wednesday that 38 Romanian citizens working in Magdeburg, Germany had tested positive for the novel coronavirus. One of them died, while another one is hospitalized.
Also on Wednesday, the Romanian MFA announced that 85 Romanians employed in a farm in Bavaria, Germany are infected with COVID-19.
Since the start of the pandemic, over 840 Romanians living or working in Germany have been diagnosed with COVID-19, while eight of them died.
On Thursday, the Foreign Ministry has confirmed 57 other Romanians from Berlin who tested positive for Coronavirus, with one of them in critical condition. However, in this case, the German local authorities mentioned that there are 370 places under quarantine, with the first conclusions pointing that “the infections would have occurred after the people attended religious services and following several religious services at some families’ houses.”
Later last night, the German Embassy in Bucharest has explained in a press release that Armin Laschet had not intention to blame the workers from Romania and Bulgaria for the coronavirus infections.
“There are numerous risks for the viruses spread, including the travel conditions in Europe. Yet, we want the borders and a European labour market to be open. I warned over the fact that this virus does not take borders into account. It’s out of the question to blame people of any nationality for the spread of the virus in any way. It’s very important to clarify that this is self-evident both to me and also to the government of the land I lead”, Armin Laschet stated, according to the above-mentioned source.