Coronavirus outbreaks: will Germany be the next big hotspot in Europe? | Germany | News and detailed reporting from Berlin and beyond | DW

With two districts in North Rhine-Westphalia that will be the scene of the latest major COVID-19 outbreaks – will Germany follow the path of the Ischgl ski area? That was the tenor of some of the headlines in German newspapers. In the opinion of doctors and politicians, however, this is unlikely. But better safe than sorry.

High spirits up close

Ischgl is a small ski resort in Tyrol, in the Austrian Alps and on the border with Switzerland, which gained worldwide fame long before the new type of coronavirus itself. The city, located at 1,400 meters above sea level, has fewer than 1,600 inhabitants Рbut 400 hotels with a total capacity of 12,000. Ischgl is known for its apr̬s-ski nightlife and attracts internationally known artists who in turn attract up to 25,000 visitors.

The virus spread rapidly in Europe at the beginning of March and Ischgl became one of the hot spots. The public prosecutor is now investigating local officials on initial suspicion of “causing a threat through infectious diseases”. Back then there were photos from Ischgl showing exuberant parties up close when the virus made headlines around the world.

Prevention instead of cure

Now to Germany: For the first time, the restrictions lifted after the first wave had to be largely reintroduced in two districts. After a massive outbreak in a Tönnies meat processing plant in the Gütersloh district and increasing numbers of infections in the neighboring Warendorf district, both are subject to similar restrictions as in March. Schools and kindergartens are closed and the distance rules apply.

Continue reading: Germany: Former slaughterhouse worker “heard colleagues cry at night”

But the epidemiologist Hajo Zeeb from the Leibniz Institute for Prevention Research and Epidemiology in Bremen says you shouldn’t compare Ischgl and Gütersloh. “We now have much better opportunities to contain the spread of the virus than we did in March. We understand the virus better. Much of what is happening in the two circles concerned is prevention. So I’m optimistic that the infection rate will rise. “It’ll fall again soon,†Zeeb told DW.

He adds that thousands of vacationers from all over Europe left Ischgl with the virus – but without knowing they had it and were unaware of the dangers. According to a study by the University of Innsbruck, more than 40% of Ischgl residents developed antibodies, so they were probably infected.

Protest against Tönnie’s meat factory in Gütersloh, Germany

The virus hits the weakest

Zeeb says the recent outbreak in the German meat factory spread mainly among Eastern European seasonal workers, who have since been confined to their quarters. The meat processing plant is closed. Extensive tests in the local population indicate a comparatively low infection rate.

Around 1,500 employees at Tönnies have become infected. And that’s the gruesome aspect of the COVID-19 crisis, Zeeb says, with the pandemic hitting those hardest who are not doing well – including workers who are already working in controversial conditions.

Zeeb takes a critical view of politicians and companies who knew about the conditions in the butcher shops long in advance. “You could have responded much faster. Both politics and the economy. A clearer entrepreneurial attitude would have been helpful,” he says.

Cheek to cheek in ice-cold halls

The conditions in the Tönnies butcher shop are well known. The seasonal workers from Eastern Europe are housed in a very confined space and work in the factory in a very confined space. The factory halls are cooled and offer ideal conditions for the virus to spread.

Chancellery chief Helge Braun also sees the latest restrictions in the two districts as prevention – and says that the situation cannot be compared with that in Ischgl. “These major outbreaks have shown that if the virus is given a chance, it strikes again,” Braun said on public television.

Continue reading: How are new coronavirus hotspots contained?

Protect nursing homes

The health spokeswoman for the Greens, Maria Klein-Schmeink, sees the factory conditions as critical and calls for comprehensive tests. “Citizens have a right to a test, even if they have no symptoms. Expanded testing capacities must be made available much more quickly at the local level,” Klein-Schmeink told DW.

She also calls for special attention to be paid to people in nursing homes. “We must do everything we can to break the chains of infection so that local clusters do not lead to a widespread increase in infections.”

NRW Prime Minister Armin Laschet had to explain the new restrictions in the two districts

No Wuhan-style lockdown

One problem with the two counties is that the locks are localized. While the restrictions were initially nationwide, they are now limited to two counties.

Other German states, including Bavaria, Lower Saxony and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, have warned against not accepting tourists from the affected districts unless they have a negative coronavirus test.

The North Rhine-Westphalian Prime Minister Armin Laschet, who belongs to the conservative CDU, has called on people to stay calm and stay at home. This is a big challenge when life goes on normally a few miles away. In the meantime, Germany seems to have avoided its own version of Ischgl for the time being.

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