Berlin and Cologne are to close all bars, clubs, cinemas, theaters and concert halls with immediate effect as Germany ramps up its efforts to slow the spread of the coronavirus
The German state of Bavaria will also be closing bars, cinemas and swimming pools, according to government sources.
ALL EVENTS WERE FORBIDDEN
Many other businesses are to follow suit on Wednesday. However, food shops, pharmacies, banks, drugstores, and gas stations are set to stay open.
German police toughens controls WATCH
“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 capital’s city state government said in a statement.
Museums, brothels, swimming pools and gyms would also close in the capital, which – like other German states – is shutting schools next week until the end of the Easter vacation. The tiny state of Saarland in the west did the same.
Health Minister Jens Spahn earlier on Saturday asked people returning from Italy, Switzerland and Austria to self-isolate for up to two weeks to help slow the spread of coronavirus. “Especially travelers and skiers returning from Switzerland, Italy and Austria should stay at home as far as possible for up to two weeks, even without symptoms,” Spahn tweeted.
As of Saturday, there were 3,795 confirmed cases of coronavirus in Germany, with eight deaths, the Robert Koch Institute for infectious diseases said. That was a rise from 3,062 confirmed cases, with five deaths, a day earlier.