First local lockdowns in Europe due to new COVID-19 cases

In Germany, a spokesperson for the district of Gütersloh in North Rhine-Westphalia announced on Wednesday (17 June) that the district will be closing its schools and daycare centres to slow the spread of coronavirus following a local outbreak, which began in a meat-packing plant. Schools will remain closed until the start of the state’s summer holidays on 29 June. In northern Greece, all residents of the community of Echinos in Xanthi have been put in strict quarantine for seven days in order to avoid the spread of Covid-19. 73 new cases and 4 deaths have been reported in the region in recent days. The case has raised eyebrows in the government and could be seen as a test ahead of the tourism season. In Slovenia, the head of the team advising the health ministry on coronavirus has called for reimposing stringent measures on the borders immediately, after an increase in new infections were registered abroad. Meanwhile, Bulgaria reported a record high of new COVID-19 cases. The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases reached 3,453 on Wednesday (17 June) after 112 new infections were confirmed in the last 24 hours. At least 35 people in the Shumen district were found to have the coronavirus due to a negligent paramedic.