Sascha Langenbach, a spokesman for the state refugee office in Berlin, said that the smallpox infection appeared in a building that is part of the Refugee Center. Currently 600 people are in quarantine and the residents are forbidden to leave the building.

Smallpox is an infectious contagious disease and therefore the residents of the building who are located there will remain in quarantine until the incubation period has passed. Two small children are infected.

The main symptoms are fever, cough and a rash that spreads from the head to the extremities of the body.

- It is difficult to further restrict the freedom of movement for people who already live in cramped conditions. However, for now, a few things need to be checked along with the health department that imposed the quarantine. For example, we need to look at which of the refugees have been vaccinated against measles and how old the residents are, Langenbach said.