From RT.
No action will be available in Germany’s capital from now
on, after Berlin shut down all public venues in an attempt to halt the spread
of the deadly coronavirus in central Europe’s most populated city.
The decision was announced by Berlin’s
authorities on Saturday. All venues such as bars, clubs, cinemas, theaters and
even brothels have been closed, while citizens are effectively prohibited from
forming any groups of 50 or more.
“The Berlin Senate decided today that from now on all public
and non-public events in Berlin with 50 or more participants are forbidden,” the city’s authorities said in a statement.
Some 216 cases of coronavirus have been confirmed in Berlin
so far, while nationwide Germany has over 3,400 registered cases and eight
resultant deaths.
Germany’s system of government is highly de-centralized, so
lockdown announcements lie in hands of local authorities. Shortly before the
capital’s, a similar move was made by the city of Cologne.
While the coronavirus epidemic has seemingly lost momentum in its
country of origin –China– the disease has been spreading rapidly worldwide in
the past few days. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the
hotspot of the outbreak has shifted to Europe and the daily numbers there
already surpass those in China. So far, Italy has experienced this the worst
among the European countries – its total number of cases reached over 21,000
and the death toll has surpassed 1,400.
Earlier this week, German Chancellor Angela
Merkel called upon the citizens to minimize social contact, namely urging
children to abstain from visiting grandparents. However, she spoke against
tougher border controls, such as those implemented by Germany’s neighbors, to
slow down the virus spread. For Germany, closing borders is “not an appropriate response to the challenge,” she argued.
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