The shuttering of another German slaughterhouse to stem a coronavirus outbreak added to calls for tighter rules in an industry long criticized for poor working conditions and crowded accommodation for seasonal staff. Production at the meat plant in Lower Saxony was halted Monday after 92 of its workers tested positive for Covid-19, the district of Osnabrueck said in a statement. The infected staff, many of whom live together, have since been quarantined.
More than 1,000 workers at European slaughterhouses from Ireland to Germany have contracted the disease, highlighting the growing challenges the global meat industry faces from the pandemic. Chancellor Angela Merkel, who has called the situation “alarming,” will discuss proposals to better protect the industry’s workers with her cabinet of ministers on Wednesday, according to an official.