Violent protests in Berlin against new anti-Covid restrictions. Police in riot gear stormed a demonstration Friday, removing hundreds of protesters on trucks

Berlin police revoked permission for a protest against the new anti-pandemic restrictions because protesters refused to wear masks and distance themselves. The water cannons were used to disperse the crowds that had gathered in front of the Brandenburg Gate, The Guardian reports.

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Authorities estimate that between 5,000 and 10,000 people gathered in the center of the German capital, ahead of a vote in the German parliament to impose new restrictions to stop the rapid spread of coronavirus infections.

Protesters whistled, banged, and wore glasses instead of masks as they marched towards the Brandenburg Gate.

Protests outside the Reichstag building were banned, with Berlin police fearful of a repeat of the scenes in August, when protesters tried to enter the parliament building.

The protests were also attended by members of the far-right AfD party. An extremist parliamentarian, Hansjoerg Mueller, compared the restrictions against Covid-19 to the act of 1933 with which Adolf Hitler gave the coup de grace to the Weimar Republic. Other neo-Nazi groups also took part in the protest.

The German parliament will meet this afternoon to vote on the entry into force of the new restrictions. Based on them, the government will be able to implement the rules of social distancing, will be able to decree the obligation to wear the mask in public and close the shops to limit the spread of the virus.

Although most Germans support these measures, an extremely vocal minority constantly organizes such protests in the country, accusing the restrictions of being unconstitutional.

“Everyone has the right to criticize the measures, our democracy thrives when we exchange views. But anyone who relativizes or trivializes the Holocaust has learned nothing from our history,” German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas wrote on Twitter.

The Robert Koch Institute reported Wednesday that the number of coronavirus infections has increased by 17,561 in the past 24 hours, bringing the total to 833,307, including 13,119 deaths.

Publisher: Adrian Dumitru