At least 500 people have been arrested in Berlin for participating in unauthorized protests against restrictions due to the pandemic.

Thousands of people took part this Sunday in Berlin in various unauthorized demonstrations to demonstrate against the restrictions imposed by the authorities to contain the coronavirus pandemic. According to what was reported by local media, the provisional balance of arrests stands at around 500.

According to the Berlin police on their Twitter account, hundreds of demonstrators, who tried to take part in a caravan of cars on foot to protest against the anti-virus measures which had the approval of the authorities, they came together this morning in unauthorized spontaneous action.

In statements to the regional channel rbb, the police spokesperson, Thilo Cablitz, said it is estimated that about two thousand people participated in the mobilization.

Police argued that protesters attempted to break police lines and isolate officers, then the security forces used tear gas and batons.

“In various parts of the western part of the city there are still large groups of people trying to focus and get started. Our barriers are ignored and the agents are attacked. There have been arrests, ”local police reported on social media shortly before 2:00 pm.

In the afternoon, two thousand more people gathered around the Victory Column, in the central street of June 17, an avenue that starts from the Brandenburg Gate and crosses the Tiergarten park, despite the fact that the authorities had previously banned the concentration called by the initiative “Querdenken 711”, which up to 22,500 participants wanted to attend.

Berlin-Brandenburg Higher Administrative Court confirmed on Saturday the ban on 17 demonstrations demanded this Sunday by the anticovid movements, mainly made up of deniers, considering that compliance with hygiene and distancing measures was not guaranteed.

In this context, the police deployed up to 2,250 agents in the German capital to ensure compliance with the bans and dissolve any unauthorized concentrations.

Cablitz had already indicated in the morning that the police are monitoring the whole city, aware that there will be “decentralized actions”.

Some protesters carried banners with messages such as “Freedom” or “No to Crown Dictatorship”, and very few wore masks in the midst of the crowd.

The Querdenker movement brings together members of the far left, conspirators, anti-vaccines but also far right activists. Their protests attract thousands, if not tens of thousands, and some have escalated into violence.

Last Friday, the government announced that it will require a negative test from this Sunday, August 1. to all travelers over the age of 12 who have not received the full schedule or who have overcome the disease, whatever your route to the country.

In the event of coming from one of the regions under the control of the most aggressive variants of covid-19, the obligation of the test is extended to all travelers, according to the resolution adopted by the federal government.

The goal of the Executive, said its deputy spokesperson, Ulrike Demmer, is to optimize the control of travelers entering the country and to contain the spread of the coronavirus.

Together with the new entry rules, the categories of places of origin considered to be at risk will be simplified, which will be reduced to two: high risk, on the one hand, and low dominance of the more aggressive variants, on the other hand.

In the first category, that of high irrigation, European partners such as Spain and the Netherlands entered a few weeks ago. Unimmunized travelers from these areas are quarantined for ten days, which can be reduced to five if a negative test is presented on the fifth.

For those with maximum risk or variant dominance, such as Brazil, the restrictions are more severe because Only German travelers or residents of Germany are allowed to enter the country, who must also be quarantined for 10 days.

The new regulations were implemented after weeks of continuously rising incidence of infections. In July, it fell to 4.9 weekly cases per 100,000 population, while it now stands at a national average of 18.5 cases. In Berlin, with the highest level in the country after Hamburg, it rose to 27.8.

The country’s authorities also observe with concern the evolution of “imported” cases, citizens returning from a stay abroad or visiting the country.

Most imported infections come from Spain, according to the latest weekly report from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) of Virology.

Between June 28 and July 25, 3,662 infections occurred with a high probability abroad and 1,247 cases would have occurred in Spain, according to the RKI.

Although in the past two weeks there has been a marked increase in imported cases, the vast majority of infections, 81 percent, continue to occur in Germany.

The RKI report finds that the downward trend in new infections observed between late April and early June has come to a halt and that since the beginning of July, there has been a continuous increase in cases and weekly incidence per 100,000 population.

The increase in incidence, according to the report, is particularly strong in the age group between 10 and 34 years. It is however very far from the peak reached in December, with 196.7 contaminations per seven days and 100,000 inhabitants.

The RKI further advises that the delta variant, considered to be more aggressive and more contagious, is clearly the majority in Germany, with 91% of cases.

The report notes that although vaccination slows the spread of the virus, the quota is still not enough to prevent or smooth out the fourth wave of the disease, so restrictions are still needed to avoid increased hospital pressure.

In Germany, 50.9% of the population received the full cycle of the vaccine and 61.3% at least the first dose.

With information from the EFE

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