Police deployed as hundreds protest virus measures in Berlin

Berlin (dpa), 29 Aug, 2021-  Hundreds of people participated in banned demonstrations against coronavirus measures in the German capital on Sunday, with over 2,000 police deployed in several parts of the capital to watch the protests.

“One focus is the government district, which has a symbolic importance,” police spokesman Thilo Cablitz said.Several thousand took to the streets of the German capital on Saturday, far fewer than originally expected.

Nine demonstrations were banned outright by the police, including that of the Querdenken (Lateral Thinking) movement - a group of coronavirus sceptics, far-right activists and anti-vaxxers - on one of Berlin’s main roads.
On August 29 a year ago, demonstrators broke through a barrier at the Reichstag building and briefly occupied the stairs in front of an entrance.

Around 2,200 police officers are being deployed in the capital on Sunday, Cablitz said. Some are accompanying the demonstrating groups to make sure they maintain social distancing.