Why are coronavirus rates so high in German regions with far-right leanings? - The Local
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Scepticism about the virus and measures to contain it is rife in Saxony, the birthplace of the Islamophobic Pegida movement — including among medical personnel and economic decision-makers.
In Bautzen, celebrity entrepreneur Jörg Drews, who runs a local construction company, has been pouring his profits into “alternative media”, according to the ARD broadcaster.
The Regen district in Bavaria, for example, had the highest incidence rate in Germany on Tuesday at 579. Three years ago, it also gave the AfD its highest score in Bavaria at more than 16 percent.
In Gelsenkirchen, the AfD’s biggest stronghold in Germany’s most populous state of North Rhine-Westphalia, the incidence rate is three times higher than in the neighbouring city of Muenster (169 versus 56).
Meanwhile, in the districts with the lowest infection rates, mostly in the northern state of Schleswig-Holstein, the AfD vote is less than eight percent.
’Burqas for all’
The AfD is the only German political party to have openly displayed scepticism of – and opposition to – virus restrictions.
AfD lawmakers have voiced opposition to wearing masks in the Bundestag lower house of parliament, for example, with one calling them “burqas for all”.
More than half of AfD voters (56 percent) consider Germany’s virus restrictions to be excessive, according to a recent Forsa poll.
