Quarantine rules introduced for Spain, hauptbahnhof begins Covid testing
After debating the issue for several days, the German Foreign Ministry has officially recategorised Spain as a Corona risk area, meaning holidaymakers returning from Mallorca will have to undergo compulsory Covid testing or face a two-week quarantine period. Both the Spanish mainland and the Balearic Islands are affected by the change in the rules, with the federal government now advising against all travel to the country. The announcement of the regulations on Friday night caught many off guard, with holidaymakers facing long queues to get tested on arrival at German airports. Those testing positive for Covid-19 are required to go into quarantine for 14 days. The Canary Islands remain unaffected by the changes.
From today international train passengers arriving into Berlin can now get swabbed at a new Covid-19 test station at Hauptbahnhof. The test station, run by disaster relief organisation Technisches Hilfswerk, is located at the basement level of the railway station and is available to inbound passengers who do not have Corona symptoms. The opening of the site comes after the Corona test centre at Tegel airport was forced to close for several hours on Sunday following an assault on employees. According to the Charité hospital that runs the site, things escalated when a person who was not entitled to a test attempted to use the service.
Arson attack on Jewish-run bar, squat house owners demand help
Police are investigating a possible political motive after an arson attack on a Jewish-run bar on Friday. “Morgen wird besser” in Lichtenberg had been threatened by neo-Nazis for years, and this latest fire – which left the pub completely burnt out – is the fourth attack on the venue since 2018. A solidarity rally is planned for Tuesday evening under the banner "No place for Nazis! Stop right-wing terror!" Berlin’s regional Criminal Investigation Department is investigating the arson with help from the Staatsschutz (state protection) to determine a possible political motive.
The fight over the occupied house Rigaer Straße 94 continues: the owners of the building that is home to a controversial left-wing squat have accused the authorities of abandoning them in their attempts to have the occupants evicted after the Hausverwalter and his lawyer were attacked on July 13 as they tried to gain access to the building. The owners’ legal team now argue that Interior Senator Andreas Geisel (SPD) and Police Commissioner Barbara Slowik are ignoring their duties by refusing to help clear the building. In an intervention today, Geisel rejected the accusations and called on the owners to come up with a sufficient legal case for removing the squatters. According to police, the building’s occupants are suspected of committing a number of crimes including the attacks on the owners, though officers have been reluctant to enter using force for fear of an escalation.
Scientists from the Charité have suggested that Berlin’s theatre and concert houses can be filled to capacity – as long as audience members wear face masks. Currently theatres and concert venues can only be filled to around a quarter of capacity in order to adhere to distancing restrictions. But the new suggestion by four researchers from the Berlin research hospital would mean that actors and musicians could once again play to full houses. On hearing the suggestion today, Culture Senator Klaus Lederer (Left) expressed surprise while the board at the Charité rejected the position of their colleagues, claiming it did not reflect the organisation’s view. It is thus unlikely that the city’s approach to audiences will change.
Coronavirus: cases in Berlin (age group)
Extinction Rebellion in Tegel protest, row after wild boar theft
Activists from climate group Extinction Rebellion mounted a demonstration at Tegel airport today to protest against domestic flights in Germany. Demonstrators held a vigil and attached a banner to the terminal building reading “Ausstieg in letzter Sekunde” ("last minute exit") in an attempt to draw attention to the climate impact of aviation. The group also shared a video of an activist reading a message to passengers on board an aircraft, though it was unclear whether she was a passenger on the flight or had boarded by other means. Airport authorities say no flights were delayed as a result of the protestors’ actions.
Since images of a wild boar making off with a nude bather’s laptop in Teufelssee made global news (see our coverage here), an animal rights debate has erupted over what to do about the pigs living around the Grunewald lake. On Sunday, activists gathered at the local forestry office to protest against plans to have the female boar in question shot, while an online petition demanding the pigs be protected has been signed by more than 4000 people. On Friday Katja Kammer, head of the Grunewald forestry office, had told RBB that the pigs had become overconfident and thus presented a danger to humans – therefore necessitating a cull. A final decision on the animal’s future has yet to be made.