Covid-19: Hamburg police end concert with 800 attendees

Hamburg (dpa) – Police in Hamburg shut down a concert with some 800 attendees that was held in contravention of health guidelines to prevent the spread of Covid-19.

People were not maintaining social distancing at the concert which featured a band, a police spokesperson said on Saturday.

Police contacted the organizers of the event that was shut down on Friday night.

There were isolated incidents during the operation, with damage to the venue and some people expelled from the premises.

The event was held amid growing concerns in Germany about the spread of Covid-19, particularly the new and more transmissible Omicron strain.

All of the states have registered cases of the Omicron variant, although nationwide, most infections are still caused by the Delta variant.

New rules are set to enter force after Christmas as the health authorities try to check a further wave of infections.

An Omicron-fuelled spike has yet to occur, however.

The nationwide seven-day incidence dropped again on Saturday compared to the previous day. The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for disease control reported the value of new infections per 100,000 people at 242.9. The day before, the value was 265.8. A month earlier, it was 419.7.

The health offices in Germany reported 22,214 new infections to the RKI within one day.

The RKI points out that the numbers could be misleading as a lower level of testing and reporting activity is to be expected during the holidays.

According to the new data, 157 deaths were recorded throughout Germany within 24 hours.