There are no Corona virus-concentration camps in Germany

A Facebook post spreads disinformation claiming there are corona concentration camps in Germany. In fact, these are state facilities that should accommodate those citizens who have repeatedly violated the measure of domestic isolation, i.e. quarantine. So far no one has been accommodated here, and it is still unknown whether they will be operational or will only be used as warning

 

The Facebook post we are reviewing falsely claims that the video shows the first corona virus-concentration camp in Germany. The video is a television report from the German newspaper “Bild”, but what is shown in it is definitely not a concentration camp in Germany.

It is a new measure by the German authorities, which equips state capacities for those citizens who repeatedly, several times, have violated the self-isolation measure, i.e. quarantine. Such facilities have been prepared by some local authorities to accommodate citizens refusing to follow state quarantine rules. It is not yet known whether such facilities will be put into operation, or will only be used as a warning. So far no one has been accommodated in these facilities.

The isolation of suspected infected persons in their own homes is an essential element in getting the infection rate under control. Anyone not complying is putting other people at risk. The infection protection act therefore rightly allows isolation in locked facilities as a last resort. “Inmates” will be allowed televisions, laptops, phones, psychological support, a comfortable bed and space to walk around. It should not really be any different from quarantining at home, – states Shonke Shulz local representative of Neumünster Council.

To end up in this institution, the citizen must have repeatedly refused to isolate themselves at home after traveling to a high-risk country or having a positive coronavirus test, and there must be evidence of these violations. The police will then visit them at home and fine them. Only after carrying out all these activities can they be sent to the Neumünster facility by court order.

In Germany, there are many cases when infected people do not isolate themselves but leave home and put other citizens at risk. Such is the case when a positive patient rode a train more than 100 km to buy medication even though they had a self-isolation order.

There were also plans to use hospitals in Berlin to accommodate the infected refusing to self-isolate, but because hospital facilities were needed for severe symptomatic cases, such rooms would not be adapted. A new facility is being built in Saxony in Dresden for those refusing self-isolation and will open at the end of January.

All these elements are missing in the post that is the subject of our review, and which due to the fact that it is in German, can be an obstacle for many Macedonian users of social media to get an accurate idea and the correct context what is all this about. The video does not present concentration camps for coronavirus patients, but rather facilities equipped similar to hotel accommodation and should isolate people refusin to follow legal regulations, thus endangering the health of others.

These facilities provide all the conditions for life and isolation as if the citizen is at home and in no way will harm their health and life, let alone be executed as it was done in the concentration camps and as falsely reported in this post.

The post also mentions Angela Merkel and adds that she follows “in the footsteps of her father Adolf”. This has nothing to do with the truth in any context. Merkel’s father is named Horst Kasner and he is a Protestant priest. If, on the other hand, a political or ideological father was referred to when mentioning the name “Adolf”, Merkel has nothing to do with the former Nazi leader of Germany. Her political views are completely opposite to those of the Nazi chancellor who plunged the world into World War II. On the contrary, there are other extremist parties in Germany (fortunately in very small in number) being considered as successors of the Nazis. Angela Merkel and her Christian Democratic Union (CDU) have nothing to do with them. No one has ever drawn a parallel between the CDU and the Nazis, and such a parallel is meaningless in this case as well.

Furthermore, Merkel has nothing to do with these adapted premises for the mandatory isolation of repetitive violators of the self-isolation measures in Germany, because they, if they are put into force, are under the jurisdiction of the German provinces, not the federal authorities under the chargew of Angela Merkel. So far there are only 6 rooms equipped for this purpose in Neumünster, meaning they are not planned for a large number of people, but aim to set an example.

 

 

 

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