Widespread outbreak of coronavirus in a refugee camp near Bonn, Germany

The coronavirus has reached another refugee camp in Germany. About 70 refugees in the St. Augustine camp have been infected with the disease. The results of the coronavirus tests of the other refugees staying in the camp have not yet been announced.

Once again, German authorities are witnessing an outbreak of the coronavirus in one of the refugee camps. This time, the scope of the outbreak has been reported to be very wide.

Information released by the authorities of the St. Augustine refugee camp, located near Bonn, indicates that a large number of refugees have contracted the coronavirus. Officials have also announced that they are awaiting the results of coronavirus tests on other refugees residing in the camp.

The center responsible for handling the situation of refugees residing in the camp announced that a total of 300 refugees have been tested for COVID-19 so far. Of these, 70 tested positive for COVID-19.

The symptoms and signs of the coronavirus among those infected in this refugee camp have been reported to be mild to somewhat mild. It is not yet clear whether the coronavirus infection in this refugee camp is limited to refugees only or whether it has spread beyond the refugees to employees and law enforcement officers stationed in the camp.

Camp officials have been separating healthy refugees from infected ones since the outbreak. It is said that 60 refugees who tested negative for COVID-19 have been transferred to another camp.

St. Augustine Refugee Camp

The St. Augustine refugee camp has a capacity of 600 people. At the time of the coronavirus outbreak, about 500 refugees were staying there.

The St. Augustin refugee camp is one of the main refugee distribution centers in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Refugees usually stay there for a week before being distributed among the cities and districts of the state.

Most of the refugees residing in this camp are young people, but families seeking asylum were also among the refugees residing in this camp during the outbreak of the coronavirus.

Criticism of the Green Party

Horst Becker, a Green Party representative in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, stated in an interview with the Kölner Staats-Enzeiger newspaper that the party has repeatedly asked German authorities to conduct coronavirus tests in refugee camps.

According to Horst Becker, the widespread outbreak of coronavirus in the St. Augustine refugee camp indicates that the authorities "acted too late."

This is not the first time that the coronavirus has spread in a refugee camp. In the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, two other cases of coronavirus outbreaks have been reported in refugee camps.

Cases of coronavirus have also been reported among refugees in the cities of Euskirchen and Mettmann. Fifty refugees have tested positive for the coronavirus in the Euskirchen refugee camp. In Mettmann, near Düsseldorf, 30 refugees have tested positive for the coronavirus.

In German states, authorities have taken preventive measures to prevent the spread of coronavirus in refugee dormitories and accommodation.

These include testing, quarantining infected people, and measures to ensure compliance with health principles. In some places, refugee dormitories and residences have even been temporarily closed due to the risk of the spread of the coronavirus.

In addition, group education for children in refugee camps has been suspended. In order to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, officials have prepared videos and guidebooks in different languages ​​and made this information available to refugees of different nationalities.

Source: DW