Kiel (dpa) - Hospitals in the German state of Schleswig-Holstein are facing an acute shortage of workers due to coronavirus infections among their staff, the head of a local hospital told the dpa news agency today, Monday.

The northernmost state in Germany hosted the Kiel Week, which has been described as one of the world's largest sailing regattas, in late June.

Patrik Raymond, managing director of the Schleswig-Holstein Hospital Association, said the numbers of patients across the state could be assessed as "attractive or catastrophic", noting that emergency rooms in particular were disproportionately overburdened.

Raymond stated that one of the main factors for the spread of Corona in the state was most likely the "Kale Week", which took place from 18 to 26 June.

Last week, the state's University Medical Center announced that it would temporarily close some wards with its 479 employees in quarantine, starting last Friday.

"The situation has of course worsened since then...we had a very stressful weekend," said center spokesman Oliver Griffe, adding that the center will seek compensation for lost income after having to postpone or suspend scheduled treatments.