Germany COVID-19 measures: Thousands of people protested in Berlin on Wednesday against planned changes to Germany’s coronavirus protection laws. The law would give the federal government power to introduce nationwide curfews, school closures among other restrictions.
Protesters gathered on Straße des 17 Juni, near Berlin’s famous Brandenburg Gate, while the Bundestag debated the infection Protection Act.
The new law, which will be voted on by the Bundestag on Wednesday, gives the national government power to impose lockdown measures on areas with high coronavirus infection rates to slow the third wave of the pandemic.
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Some of the rules being debated are curfews between 10PM and 5AM, limits on private gathering and the opening up of retail stores. The draft plans state that schools will close and return to online teaching if the virus incidence rises above 165 cases per 100,000 residents in 7 days.
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More demonstrators are expected during the rest of the day with around 2,200 officers at the scene. The Reichstag building and Brandenburg Gate were cordoned off.
A police spokesman told The Local that they had water cannons ready should they be necessary.
Protesters chanted: “Peace, freedom, no dictatorship” while some made noise with whistles and drums. One poster read: “End scaremongering now”.
Police repeatedly called through a loudspeaker for protesters to comply with the coronavirus hygiene rules like wearing a mask and keeping distance.
Some people were detained for not following the rules, police said.
Source: The Local.de,