The corona virus has arrived at Bavarian slaughterhouses. Series testing is underway at Wiesenhof in Bogen. But why are slaughterhouses a source of infection?
- The corona virus * has also reached Bavarian slaughterhouses.
- There is a series test at the Wiesenhof farm in Bogen.
- But why are slaughterhouses a source of infection?
- Here you will find the basic facts about the corona virus and the corona news from Bavaria. We also offer you the current number of cases in Bavaria * on a map. The following recommendations for corona protection measures are currently available.
Update from 2:50 p.m .: After the far-reaching corona outbreak at a poultry slaughterhouse of the Wiesenhof company became known, the management of the well-known company has now taken a position.
Managing Director Jürgen Loibl said according to the announcement: "As a systemically important company, we have three elementary tasks to ensure here in our company: The best possible protection of all of our employees, the protection of animal welfare and the security of supply of the population with fresh poultry meat ." He announced further voluntary tests.
Corona tests in Straubing: safety of the population "top priority"
So far, at least 77 employees of the slaughterhouse have been considered corona positive . However, there are still a few tests to be done. District Administrator Josef Laumer (CSU) said in an interview that preventing the spread of infection has top priority. Straubing's Mayor Markus Pannermayr (CSU) is of the same opinion. If more than 50 new corona infections per 100,000 inhabitants are confirmed within seven days , the anti-corona measures could be tightened again in the Straubing-Bogen district . It is now a matter of preventing this.
Corona outbreak at Wiesenhof in Bavaria: 77 employees in quarantine
Update from 2:23 p.m .: In a large-scale corona test at a slaughterhouse in the Straubing-Bogen district, the novel virus was found in 59 people. According to the current status, a total of 77 employees are infected. Community accommodation, in which affected employees live, is quarantined , according to the district office . Infected people who cannot be isolated there would be brought to a central shelter. "A security service also monitors the quarantine there." Interpreters are there.
Coronavirus Sars-CoV-2 was detected in 18 employees of the Danube Valley poultry specialties in Bogen. The authorities then ordered a screening of all employees. The necessary cuts were made on Tuesday and Wednesday.
According to the authority, the company, which belongs to the Wiesenhof Group, employs 1021 people, including 525 contract workers. There was initially no comment from Wiesenhof on Friday.
Corona outbreak at Wiesenhof in Bavaria - "The second major failure after the
First registration from May 15th, 12 noon
Bogen (Straubing-Bogen district) - The so-called series test has been running at a poultry slaughterhouse in Bogen since Tuesday . The almost 1,000 employees of the Wiesenhof plant are gradually tested for the corona virus at four test stations . According to dpa information, the virus was found in 59 people, a further 150 tests are still pending. After several operations in North Rhine-Westphalia, Schleswig-Holstein and Baden-Württemberg, the virus has also reached the Bavarian slaughterhouses .
Corona virus at Wiesenhof in Bavaria: Why are slaughterhouses a source of infection?
But why are slaughterhouses in particular a source of infection that, as the Robert Koch Institute announced on Tuesday, even causes the number of reproductions to swell? "It is usually not the job of the slaughterhouse," says Mustafa Öz of the Food and Gastropubs Union in Bavaria (NGG). "There are high hygiene standards on the slaughterhouse , not much can happen." The work system of the large slaughterhouses is the problem. "The large slaughterhouse chains such as Tönnies, Vion or Westfleisch have outsourced many of their core activities to subcontractors through work contracts," says Öz. Butchering and cutting up is often done by workers from abroad.
“In the large slaughterhouses, some 60 to 80 percent of the employees are contract workers. “These workers from Bulgaria, Poland or Romania would be accommodated in shared accommodation by the subcontractors. "And there is a lot in the wrong - not only with the recording of working hours, but also with the hygiene in the accommodations and the sanitary facilities there," says Öz. The Federal Ministry of Labor for collective accommodation in Corona times generally recommends single occupancy of bedrooms. Federal Labor Minister Hubertus Heil (SPD) announced stricter regulations yesterday in the Bundestag and said: "We will clear up with these circumstances."
Corona virus in Bavarian slaughterhouses: Protection and hygiene concepts according to the district office available
The size of slaughterhouses in Upper Bavaria varies widely. In Fürstenfeldbruck, for example, only two employees from Eastern Europe work in the slaughterhouse, explains managing director Engelbert Jais. And these employees do not live in dormitories , but like all other employees with their families in apartments. But there are also large slaughterhouses in Upper Bavaria, such as Südfleisch in Waldkraiburg, which is operated by the Dutch group Vion. According to the company, 4,200 cattle are slaughtered there every week and 800 tons of meat cut up. The responsible district office in Mühldorf emphasizes that, given the corona situation, there is a close exchange with the operators. Protection and hygiene concepts are available. An assessment of the accommodation of the employees is not possible, however, since employees at slaughterhouses are not subject to the duty to report.
In view of the recent outbreak in Lower Bavaria, the Landtag SPD calls for comprehensive Covid 19 tests and a special control program to check occupational health and safety for slaughterhouse employees. "For me it is the second major failure of the state government in the corona crisis after the strong beer festivals, " said SPD MP Florian von Brunn. "We must not risk that slaughterhouses and large farms with harvest helpers become infection hotspots and endanger entire regions."
Coronavirus in Bavaria: Ministry of Health rejects allegations by the SPD
The Bavarian Ministry of Health rejects the SPD's allegations. Protecting the population is a top priority. That is why the State Office for Health and Food Safety will shortly start further series tests of employees at the Bavarian slaughterhouses, said a ministry spokesman. As of yesterday, the ministry was not aware of any other corona cases in Bavarian slaughterhouses.
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* Merkur.de is part of the nationwide Ippen-Digital editors network
List of rubric lists: © picture alliance / dpa / Armin Weigel
