At least 47 Romanians working in a slaughterhouse in Dissen, Germany, infected with COVID-19. Romanian worker previously infected in Birkenfeld died

A Romanian citizen infected with COVID-19 working in a slaughterhouse in Birkenfeld, Germany, where at least 200 Romanians have been infected with the novel coronavirus, has died, the Romanian Foreign Ministry announced today.

Around 200 Romanians who are working in a slaughterhouse in Birkenfeld, Badden-Wurttemberg region, tested positive for the new coronavirus at the end of April.

MAE says that, according to the information provided by the German employer, the Romanian who died had tested negative for SARS-CoV-2 infection during the last two tests taken last week after recovery.

The citizen’s family was announced about the death, while the employer will take care of the repatriation formalities, also covering for the transport expenses.

Moreover, at least 47 of Romanian citizens working in a slaughterhouse in Dissen, Lower Saxony in Germany have also been infected with the novel coronavirus, the Romanian Foreign Ministry reported in Friday.

Romanian Foreign Ministry said that besides those 47 Romanians confirmed with the virus, there are also other 57 placed under quarantine after having been in contact with the infected workers.

The tests for other 23 Romanian employees of the slaughterhouse in Dissen came out negative for coronavirus.

However, mass media quoted the workers at the slaughterhouses saying the accommodation conditions were not good, while the protection rules were not observed in the slaughterhouse.

Germany to amend rules for workers in the slaughterhouses

After paying a visit to Germany, the Romanian Labour minister Violeta Alexandru stated that the German Government had taken the decision to amend the working conditions in the meat industry as of January 2021, meaning that foreign laborers working in slaughterhouses will not be able to do that through subcontractors and that will also include Romanian citizens.

“The social protection regime provided by the subcontractors was practically different from what the main contractor was offering. The German Labour Ministry has assumed to make a change and there will be major amendments for the working conditions in slaughterhouses in Germany as of next year”, minister Violeta Alexandru said.