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Berlin Court cancels 'curfew' imposed on bars, restaurants amid COVID-19 pandemic

Just Earth News | @justearthnews | 16 Oct 2020, 09:56 pm Print

Berlin Court cancels 'curfew' imposed on bars, restaurants amid COVID-19 pandemic Berlin Bars

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Berlin/Sputnik: The Berlin Administrative Court overturned on Friday the city authorities' order to restrict the work of bars and restaurants in the German capital in light of the growing number of COVID-19 cases.

On October 6, the authorities of Berlin issued the directive for eating establishments to remain closed from 11 p.m to 6 a.m. (21:00-04:00 GMT) over a surge in new cases of the infection.

"The curfew on imposed on eating establishments introduced by the Berlin authorities as protection measure against SARS-CoV-2 has not passed the legal assessment," a court's spokesperson said.

The court said that the need to impose the restrictions was "not apparent," since bars and restaurants are not the hot spots of the coronavirus and do not contribute to an increase in infection rates.

Despite the decision of the court, German authorities called Berlin's catering institutions for further restrictions.

After a temporary stabilization of case numbers in late August and early September, Germany, like other European countries, is experiencing a sharp rise in coronavirus cases.

The daily increase on Friday was more than 7,300 new cases — the highest figure since the pandemic began.