The German federal government has decided to put the Warendorf and Guterloh area in full lockdown after a major outbreak of corona at the Tonnies slaughterhouse has led to more than 1,500 infections in the area.
Federal minister Armin Laschet and Minister of Health Karl-Josef Laumann decided on the lockdown, which will last at least until 30 June 2020.
Social contact in public is prohibited, cinemas, fitness centers, and swimming pools will be closed. Mass testing will be done in the area, including all staff in hospitals and super markets. The goal is to have an overview of how infected the Warendorf/Gutersloh area is after the mass outbreak at Tonnies, where mainly immigrant workers from Poland, Rumania and Bulgaria are employed through a subcontract system. No less than 1533 of the 6140 employees are infected with Covid-19 in the meat processing plant.
The lockdown also means that the first Piaff Forderpreis competition, which is also the first of two team selection trials for German Under 25 riders for the 2020 European Youth Championships, has been cancelled.
Warendorf is the beating heart of German Equestrian sport. The town houses the offices of the German Equestrian Federation as well as the DOKR national equestrian centre. It is also the show grounds for the Bundeschampionate (to be held in September).
The town is 30 kilometers from the Tonnies slaughterhouse in Rheda-Wiedenbrück. Tonnies handles no less than 30% of all meat products in German supermarkets and slaughters around 50,000 pigs every day.
The German Equestrian Federation is yet to make a statement, whether the U25 selection trial will be relocated to a different venue in the country, or cancelled.
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