Berlin bans dance in clubs amid rising Covid-19 in Germany

The Berlin authorities have banned dancing in nightclubs and other closed spaces due to a sharp increase in the number of COVID-19 infections. The new rules will operate from December 8 to January 2 at least, according to the official city portal of the German capital.

For the time being, they cannot completely stop the work of the clubs for legal reasons. Last week, the Berlin authorities set a threshold for the number of diseases to impose restrictions: 350 new cases per week per 100 thousand people. Last week this figure exceeded the norm, and now it is 341. New restrictions will not apply to discos in open areas, but only vaccinated and ill visitors will be able to get there.

Lutz Leichsenring from the Berlin Club Commission criticized the authorities' position, noting that they did not provide any statistics on the incidence in the clubs and did not offer an alternative in the form of PCR tests at the entrance. “The pandemic has been going on for 20 months, and nothing better than banning dancing could not be imagined,” said Leichsenring. According to him, such measures will not affect underground parties in basements and private houses.

The new requirements also apply to the operation of restaurants and pubs: they will be open, but should reduce the number of tables. In addition, the number of visitors to outdoor events will be limited to a thousand people; no more than two hundred people will be able to gather indoors. On Sunday, December 5, Germany recorded almost 36 thousand new cases of COVID-19.