A German region is returning to lockdown for after reporting a sharp rise in coronavirus cases linked to an outbreak at a slaughterhouse.
Residents of Guetersloh county, in Germany’s most populous state of North Rhine-Westphalia, should have contact only with people from their own household or one person from outside, Governor Armin Laschet said on Tuesday.
Cinemas, gyms and bars will be closed but restaurants will be allowed to continue to serve people from the same household, he added. "For the first time in Germany, we will return an entire district to the measures that applied several weeks ago," Mr Laschet said.
The measures will be lifted on June 30 if the situation has improved, he said.
Police officers stand outsidethe residential homes of slaughterhouse employees who have been placed under strict quarantine. AFP
More than 1,500 workers at the Toennies slaughterhouse in Rheda-Wiedenbrueck have now tested positive for the virus.
Thousands more have been placed under strict quarantine rules in an effort to halt the outbreak.
Tuesday’s limited lockdown came as one of Germany’s top health officials said the country was at risk of suffering a second wave of Covid-19.
The head of the Robert Koch Institute for public health, Lothar Wieler, said however that he was optimistic it could be prevented.
Mr Wieler added that there was no scientific evidence that suggests social distancing rules imposed to help slow the spread of the coronavirus should be lifted.
Before this latest outbreak, Germany had been widely praised for its handling of the pandemic.
Widespread testing, tracing and hospital preparation measures were credited with keeping Germany’s death toll well below those of other large European states such as France and the United Kingdom.
Germany has so far confirmed more than 192,000 cases of the virus and reported nearly 9,000 deaths. _______________
University graduates wearing face masks take a selfie during their graduation ceremony at Wuhan University in Wuhan in China's central Hubei province. AFP
Residents of a coronavirus-infected area argue with police officers in Lahore, Pakistan. AP Photo
A man sprays hand sanitiser on a child who is travelling on a public bus in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Reuters
A member of the Indonesian Red Cross wearing a protective suit sprays disinfectant liquid inside a classroom at a school amid an easing of the large-scale coronavirus restrictions in Jakarta, Indonesia. EPA
A woman undergoes temperature check as a precaution against the spread of Covid-19, at the entrance of the zoo in Cali, Colombia. AFP
Medical emergency personnel transfer older adults who tested positive for the Covid-19 disease from an asylum to hospitals, in Buenos Aires, Argentina. EPA
Employees work on the production line at a Detmold production centre for medical-grade face masks in Brompton, Adelaide, Australia. EPA
Paul Manship's 'Youth' statue in Rockefeller Centre wears a mask to coincide with New York City moving into the phase two of gradual reopening from coronavirus restrictions. AFP
Everton fans are seen on a large screen as they watch remotely the English Premier League soccer match between Everton and Liverpool at Goodison Park in Liverpool, England. AP
A ragpicker pushes his tricycle as Christians sit in their vehicles maintaining social distancing during a drive-in mass at Bethel AG Church in Bengaluru, India. AP Photo
A man sits on his rickshaw waiting for clients as Spain officially reopens the borders amid the coronavirus disease outbreak, in Barcelona, Spain. Reuters
Sotheby's staff, wearing protective masks, attend a buyers' preview before the resumption of live jewellery auctions after the coronavirus lockdown in Geneva, Switzerland. Reuters
Customers wait in the lobby of Cinema 5 Caumartin in Paris ahead of its opening just after midnight, after cinemas in France were allowed to reopen on June 22. AFP
Children stand through a sunroof while attending a drive-though classic and custom car show on the arena floor at Pacific Coliseum, in Vancouver, British Columbia. The Canadian Press via AP
A notice on precautions against the coronavirus is displayed at a metro station in South Korea. AP Photo