Again, the corona virus has spread to a refugee shelter. In St. Augustin near Bonn, 70 people tested positive. Similar incidents had already occurred in NRW in Euskirchen and Mettmann.
St. Augustin (dpa) - In a refugee facility in St. Augustin near Bonn, 70 people tested positive for the corona virus. The district government of Cologne announced this. A total of 300 people were tested at the property.
The "Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger" had previously reported numerous positive test results in the refugee home. The infected were moved to an isolation area. Further test results are still pending. The refugee home can accommodate up to 600 people. The majority of people who tested positive showed no or weak symptoms, the district government said. In the meantime, 60 negatively tested people were accommodated in other facilities.
There was criticism from the Greens. "We have made several demands to test these homes," said North Rhine-Westphalian State Member Horst Becker to the "Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger": "It is now becoming clear that this happened much too late."
In St. Augustin (Rhein-Sieg district) mostly young people but also families were accommodated. The quarantine order has meanwhile been handed over to the residents and explained in personal one-on-one meetings with the social workers and sometimes by a translation into the native language.
The rapid spread of the corona virus is not uncommon in refugee homes. In North Rhine-Westphalia alone, two institutions were already more affected. In Euskirchen more than 50 people tested positive for Covid-19, in Mettmann near Düsseldorf there were more than 30 positive cases in a refugee home.
In the past, countries have tried to curb the spread of the virus with tests, quarantine, tightened hygiene measures and the closing of group rooms. Children sometimes have to do without lessons and group supervision in the dormitories. Attempts were also made to inform the residents of accommodation in different languages.