Germans decry ‘out of proportion’ Covid-19 lockdown measures with multiple protests with ‘social distancing’

German citizens expressed their anger with what they call extreme Covid-19 lockdown measures in several demonstrations that included cages, empty chairs and sit-ins, yet all were carried out to keep safe distances.

At a demonstration in Munich’s Marienplatz on Friday, citizens in medical masks and all adhering to social distancing guidelines under the watchful eye of police protested what they called the “absurdity” of the measures.

“I actually protested an absurdity, I sat on a park bench, that was at a time, i.e. last week, when it was still forbidden and that's why I was arrested,” Thomas Prudlo, a member of the Ecological Democratic Party (ODP), said. “I almost see a piece of cabaret there, because a million joggers could jog past me, but an old grandmother was not allowed to sit on the park bench.” He explained that he protested these “out of proportion” measures and got arrested. 

In Dresden’s Neumarkt, tables and hundreds of empty chairs were also put on display in front of the city’s iconic Frauenkirche church, with each supposed to represent a restaurateur struggling financially due to being closed.

The country’s Constitutional Court ruled on Thursday that citizens had the right to protest as long as they followed social distancing guidelines. Activists had petitioned after a planned protest in Giessen was canceled because it required more than two people to be together in public. 

Demonstrators went on with their protests on Friday with dummies trapped inside makeshift jails, as well as banners in favor of open borders and environmental protections.

Germany currently has over 139,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus, as well as over 4,000 deaths.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel announced this week the process of gradually reopening some businesses and schools will begin in May – lockdown measures are in place until at least May 3. However, large gatherings and “big events” have been banned until August 31.

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