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Queue in front of the Corona test center in Garmisch-Partenkirchen
Photo: Lino Mirgeler / dpa
A visit to a pub, numerous infections.
An infected person who passes the virus on to dozens of people - so-called super spreaders are particularly feared in the corona pandemic.
They can accelerate the infection rate dramatically and pose major challenges for the health authorities.
Now there has been an increase in the number of cases in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, which, according to the responsible district office, is probably due to such a constellation.
A 26-year-old American woman had herself tested with Covid 19 symptoms last Monday and, according to the district office, went through the local nightlife on Tuesday despite a request for quarantine - the result of her test was not yet certain at the time.
A day later the woman was informed: positive.
She is said to have infected several people in the meantime.
That has consequences for the whole place - and possibly also for the woman personally.
In Bavaria, fines of up to 2000 euros can be imposed for violations of quarantine requirements.
In addition, the Munich II public prosecutor has initiated an investigation against the woman, as confirmed by the spokesman for the responsible police department in Upper Bavaria South in Rosenheim.
It is about the charge of negligent bodily harm.
The investigation is carried out by the criminal police in Garmisch-Partenkirchen.
In addition, several criminal complaints have been received.
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Corona test center in Garmisch-Partenkrichen: The limit of 50 cases per 100,000 inhabitants has been exceeded
Photo: Lino Mirgeler / dpa
The Garmisch District Office called on people between 18 and 35 years of age to be tested, as they were particularly affected by the new infections.
People who were in bars in the city last Tuesday or the days before should also contact the health department.
According to the district office, more than 700 people had themselves tested over the weekend.
The results of these tests are still pending, they are expected on Monday and Tuesday.
The seven-day incidence is currently 55 cases per 100,000 inhabitants and thus above the limit of 50. If this mark is exceeded, rural districts in Germany can restrict public life more severely.
Bars and restaurants have to close at 10 p.m.
The Garmisch-Partenkirchen district office had already ruled on Friday that all bars and restaurants must close at 10 p.m. for a week, for private events there is now an upper limit of 50 people in closed rooms and 100 people in the open air.
Only groups of no more than five people are allowed to stay in public places and in restaurants.
"We now have to see how the numbers develop and interpret them," said Stephan Scharf, the spokesman for the district office, on the question of possible further measures.
He warned of the 26-year-olds being prejudiced, a precise examination of the chains of infection was still pending and might not be completely possible.
However, the case is already causing a stir at the highest level of the Bavarian State Chancellery.
Prime Minister Markus Söder said after a cabinet meeting in Munich on Monday: "Garmisch-Partenkirchen is a model case for irrationality."
Söder continues: "This carelessness must also have consequences."
After careful examination, "high fines" are possible, according to Söder, also as a "signal".
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Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann (CSU) told "Münchner Merkur" that the woman "must expect a severe fine" should confirm that she "consciously" and "despite clear corona symptoms" ignored the quarantine.
Against the "ruthlessness" "a clear signal and a warning example should be set".
"She could have known because she had symptoms"
If the timing in Garmisch is confirmed, the case does not fit into the series of breakdowns on Bavarian motorways and airports, where the operators of the test stations informed the tested people only with a long delay or not at all.
It is unclear exactly where the young woman was infected.
She may have been infected during a vacation in Greece, from which she returned to her place of work in Garmisch at the end of August.
But it is possible that it first got infected in Germany.
One thing is certain, however: "She was infected, she could have known because she had symptoms," says Scharf.
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The "Edelweiss Lodge and Resort" in Garmisch-Partenkirchen
Photo: PHILIPP GUELLAND / EPA-EFE / Shutterstock
After the mass tests at the weekend, the first companies in the resort are now drawing conclusions - including the 26-year-old's job.
The woman is employed at the "Edelweiss Lodge and Resort", a facility of the US armed forces.
The military and their relatives can go on vacation there, shielded by a security gate.
The resort will be closed for two weeks from this Monday.
Several employees have tested positive, it says on the website.
Physicians in the US Army are now testing themselves, the German authorities are being kept informed.
Anyone who has visited the resort from September 3rd should be aware of possible symptoms.
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Cocktail bar Peaches: So far, the employee tests are negative
Photo: PHILIPP GUELLAND / EPA-EFE / Shutterstock
"Basically, we don't care about nationality, it doesn't matter, infected is infected," explains the spokesman for the district office.
The nationality was communicated "in order to be able to narrow down the circle a bit".
The Peaches cocktail bar, which the young woman visited on Tuesday, had to have all employees tested - all of the results have so far been negative.
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