Coronavirus Protests: Anti-Lockdown Demonstrations Erupt Across Several German Cities

Thousands of Germans took to the streets over the weekend to protest Chancellor Angela Merkel’s lockdown policies. On Saturday, police detained over 200 people in Berlin, while 1,500 people gathered in Frankfurt to protest the coronavirus restrictions.

In Stuttgart, more than 5,000 people gathered to demonstrate, with one protester carrying the slogan “coronavirus is fake.” In Munich, police limited the rally to 1,000 people.

Thomas Haldenwang, the president of Germany’s domestic intelligence agency, told the Welt am Sonntag newspaper Sunday that right-wing extremists were exploiting the demonstrations. Ken Jebsen, a German YouTuber and right-wing conspiracy theorist, has frequently participated in the protests.

Merkel has left it up to Germany’s 16 states on how to reopen certain businesses such as bars, restaurants and movie theaters.

Although Germany has seen a fair amount of coronavirus cases, the country has not seen as many deaths as other European hotspots, due to widespread testing and an oversupply of hospital beds. Germany’s economy has been hard-hit due to the coronavirus, with Merkel on Monday announcing a 500-billion-euro ($543 billion) recovery fund with French President Emmanuel Macron.

Germany first introduced social distancing restrictions in mid-March. Although Germany is now reopening, areas and towns that see more than 50 new cases per 100,000 residents within seven days could see a renewed lockdown to prevent the spread of infection.

As of Monday at 3:30 p.m. ET, there are 176,551 coronavirus cases in Germany and a death toll of 8,003.