[ad_1]
The Corona 2020 year came to a quiet end in Germany: the big New Year’s Eve parties were canceled, there were significantly fewer fireworks than usual.
Germany’s largest New Year’s Eve party at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin had been canceled, private celebrations across the country should only take place on a small scale. Gatherings of people were banned throughout the country, as was the lighting of firecrackers and fireworks. The turn of the year was correspondingly quiet in Germany. Many streets seemed to have been swept empty, there were significantly fewer people than usual on New Years Eve.
Little gluttony – some bets
Despite the sales ban, there was a roar and fireworks were blazing in the sky, but everything was more contained than usual. Police helicopters flew over several districts of Berlin, but the assessment of the situation by the Police did not change after midnight. “It’s quiet, there is little to do,” said a spokesman. However, the fire department had to carry out a large-scale operation because a supermarket in Buckow in the Neukölln district was on fire. The building where the fireworks were stored completely caught fire and collapsed. No one was injured.
In many other cities, too, things were generally quiet. “There is no comparison with previous years,” said a police spokesman in Mainz. Something similar could be heard from Bremen, Lower Saxony and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. Downtown Düsseldorf, where firecrackers were banned, was deserted until just before midnight. From Hamburg, the location service said officials had occasionally picked up fireworks, but the streets were very empty.
In many places, the police ended smaller parties in apartments. In Munich, the police moved on hundreds of missions, mainly due to the night curfew, which was also enforced in Bavaria on New Year’s Eve.
Fewer fireworks accidents: one dead in Brandenburg
Hospitals were also less busy at night than usual, but in Brandenburg, however, a 24-year-old was killed by fireworks. In the Rietz-Neuendorf accident near Frankfurt / Oder, a manipulated pyrotechnics exploded right next to it, as a police spokeswoman said. The man suffered severe head and facial injuries, of which he died at the scene.
Overall, there were only a few serious injuries across the country due to improper handling of firecrackers and rockets. The Berlin Accident Hospital reported a total of ten emergency operations in which hand surgeons had to treat serious injuries with pyrotechnics. A spokeswoman said partial amputations were necessary twice. In general, however, the night was much quieter than on other New Years. “It was not a typical New Year’s Eve,” the spokeswoman said.
In Schmalkalden, Thuringia, a 24-year-old was seriously injured by a firecracker that exploded too early. In Osnabrück, three young men were injured while handling chemicals to make firecrackers. There was an explosion on the top floor of a row house. A 21-year-old lost limbs and, according to the police, is in danger of death. A 26-year-old was seriously injured and a 20-year-old was slightly injured in the explosion. All three men are in hospital, the house was badly damaged and may be in danger of collapsing.
Police operations in Leipzig-Connewitz, Stuttgart and Essen
The Leipzig police had stationed numerous emergency services in the left-wing alternative district of Connewitz. Parts of the meeting point at Connewitzer Kreuz were also cordoned off with bars. It was quiet there before midnight. Few people were on the streets. The city of Leipzig had banned the meetings by the end of the year. The police had announced in advance that they wanted to avoid the crowds “early.”
There were several demonstrations in Stuttgart against the crown policy of the federal government and the state government of Baden-Württemberg. There were repeated violations of the conditions. According to a police spokeswoman, officers screened attendees who claimed to have a medical certificate that exempted them from the mask requirement. But there were no major incidents.
In Essen, police officers and firefighters were thrown from a group of young people with fireworks. No one was injured. The youth are said to have set the garbage cans on fire beforehand. A 16-year-old suspected pitcher was arrested.
