Updated June 26, 2020, 7:44 p.m.
Beginning of the summer vacation in NRW – and Corona hotspots in two circles. Can it go well? The holiday regions around the North and Baltic Seas fear bad things. The federal government and the federal states move in firewalls.
In view of the massive outbreak of corona in the Gütersloh district, the federal and state governments have imposed restrictions on travelers from a district with a high infection rate. They may only be accommodated in hotels or holiday apartments if there is a medical certificate stating that they are corona-free. This emerges from a decision by the heads of the Federal Chancellery and the state and senate offices of the federal states on Friday. The summer vacation began in North Rhine-Westphalia on Friday, tens of thousands of people went on vacation in the most populous federal state. In other federal states, there is therefore concern that the virus could be introduced into holiday destinations.
More than 50 new infections per 100,000 inhabitants
According to the resolution, the federal states will take precautions in the particularly affected areas that “travelers from a district or an independent city with a cumulative number of more than 50 new infections per 100,000 inhabitants may only be accommodated in an accommodation facility within the last 7 days or without a quarantine measure are allowed to enter a country if they have a medical certificate in paper or digital form, which confirms that there is no evidence of a coronavirus infection SARS-CoV-2 available”.
In a protocol statement, Thuringia pointed out that the assessment of the health authorities of the affected areas must be the basis and yardstick for the measures taken by the travel destination areas.
Previously, other countries had banned accommodation or other measures on Friday. How these now deal with the federal-state decision was initially open.
“Completely unacceptable and disgusting”
In the meantime, the federal government called for solidarity in regional corona outbreaks, such as in the Gütersloh and Warendorf districts, and warned against the denunciation of people living there. “Every region can suddenly be affected by an outbreak,” said government spokesman Steffen Seibert in Berlin. He strongly condemned that people from the circles were insulted and their cars scratched. That is a “completely unacceptable and disgusting” behavior. On the other hand, mutual respect is needed, especially in difficult situations.
The chancellor called the district councilor of Gütersloh, Sven-Georg Adenauer, on Friday. “The Chancellor gave me courage and thanked me,” said the CDU politician, according to the press release. She said that the citizens of the district got into the current situation through no fault of their own. Through the lockdown and the associated restrictions, they made a very important contribution to ensuring that Virus cannot spread beyond the district of Gütersloh in Germany.
Does the Tönnies Group have to be liable?
According to the Robert Koch Institute, the number of new infections per 100,000 inhabitants in the district of Warendorf fell to 47.9 within the past seven days, again below the decisive value of 50. The figure also fell further in the Gütersloh district. With 177.7 cases per 100,000 inhabitants in the past seven days (previously 192.8), the value is still significantly above the 50 mark.
Prime Minister Laschet told the editorial network in Germany that he considered the Tönnies Group to be responsible. “It is currently being examined very carefully whether and which rules the company has violated and where it can be held liable.”
No second chance for the industry
Federal Agriculture Minister Julia Klöckner (CDU) is pressing for fundamental changes in the meat market in order to prevent the constant price war and problematic conditions. “There will be no second chance for the entire industry,” she said after meeting industry and association representatives on Friday in Düsseldorf. The corona crisis with the large infection outbreak at meat producer Tönnies is like a burning glass for the situation. Klöckner announced that it would consider tightening the law on pricing and food advertising with enticing prices.
At the end of May, the federal cabinet decided on key points for new regulations in the meat industry. The key point is an extensive ban on contracts for work as of January 1, 2021. Then it should no longer be permissible for work to be purchased entirely from subcontractors. Labor Minister Hubertus Heil (SPD) wants to present a bill in the summer.
The meat industry, which is heavily criticized, appears to be giving up its resistance to this proposed law. The association of the meat industry announced on Friday to support it. Initial implementations by member companies showed the seriousness with which the industry as a whole is striving to reverse previous practice and to end the system of work contracts in slaughtering and cutting.
What do voluntary commitments do?
The countries North Rhine-Westphalia and Lower Saxony, where there are a particularly large number of locations for the meat industry, are demanding stricter legal rules for the industry, which repeatedly makes headlines with scandals. “The voluntary commitments of the slaughtering and cutting industry have failed,” said a joint ten-point paper by the labor and agriculture ministers of both countries on Friday.
The clinics in Germany still expect to operate in crisis mode for months. “The corona pandemic is not over yet,” said the managing director of the German Hospital Society, Georg Baum, the German press agency. “Free personnel and intensive capacities are still required – also for a possible second wave in autumn.” A return to regular care as before Corona was certainly not possible until well into the next year. (best / dpa)
The corona virus was able to spread unnoticed for a long time in a slaughterhouse of the meat producer Tönnies in the district of Gütersloh. Could Tönnies be asked to checkout now?
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