London | Germany's move to put 500,000 people into lockdown after a major COVID-19 outbreak in an abattoir is emerging as a critical test of whether localised containment measures can control spot flare-ups and prevent the dreaded "second wave".

The incident kicked off earlier in the week when 1553 of 7000 workers tested positive for coronavirus at the Tönnies slaughterhouse in Gütersloh, east of Duesseldorf in the industrial heartland.