The desire to go out, drink and party is increasing, especially among young people - despite Corona. Techno is on in parks, and party noises can be heard again at night from open windows. There is a crowd in front of bars. Rules don't matter. Is it mainly the alcohol?
Berlin (dpa) - The hot summer air is currently in the streets of downtown Berlin until the early hours of the morning. The benches in front of pubs and beer kiosks (in Berlin: "Spätis") are full of young people in Kreuzberg, Neukölln and Mitte.
Corona intervals, masks, contact lists? This is seldom the priority in the party districts in hot August. Rather, the observer 2-room apartment comes to mind: "36 degrees, and it gets even hotter - never turn down the beat again - (...) life doesn't seem hard to me at all".
After the debate about carefree parties in parks, the Berlin Senator for Health Dilek Kalayci (SPD) brought an alcohol ban for pubs and bars into play - at least if the constant violations of the Corona ordinances do not end. She got support from the district mayor of Neukölln, who knows his neighborhood well and is "appalled" by some developments. But a rare coalition of the left, the Greens, the FDP and business reacted indignantly.
And on Tuesday, after the Senate meeting, Senator for Culture Klaus Lederer (left) emphasized that the Senate was "not really" considering an alcohol ban. Instead, there must be controls on the main issues and, if necessary, "drastic consequences". He had previously approached his Senate colleague on Twitter: "This # alcohol ban number is a robber pistol."
Now Lederer spoke of fines or the closure of facilities. An additional 240 employees are to be made available for the regulatory offices of the 12 Berlin districts. Whether from the existing staff or through new positions will only be explained on Friday.
Kalayci had said on Monday that the sloppy pubs would make her very worried. Fines would have to be "consistently" imposed. It was then more concrete on Tuesday on the RBB information radio. Particularly problematic are certain streets where there are "tight crowds" and "very close contact" and a "party atmosphere" is created while drinking. "That is definitely a risk of infection."
Other federal states are already implementing similar strategies. In Hamburg, for example, the sale of take-away alcohol in trendy neighborhoods has been banned since July in order to prevent the usual mass parties on the street. In party-spoiled Berlin, however, many consider alcohol restrictions unthinkable.
The hotel and restaurant association Dehoga spoke on Monday of responsible citizens who could decide for themselves. The Berlin FDP parliamentary group leader Sebastian Czaja called for alcohol to be drunk in public. There the public order office and police would have at least some control over what is happening. And Senator for Economic Affairs Ramona Pop (Greens) complained that "prohibition discussions" would not help. Gastronomy would also have to adhere to the rules. However, the police and regulatory authorities would have to enforce this.
But there is often a lack of enforcement in Berlin. Controls are generally difficult in the metropolis without curfew, with hundreds of late night bars and bars as well as young tourists arriving because of cheap pubs, clubs and drugs. Hard sanctions are rarely imposed.
Neukölln's district mayor Martin Hikel (SPD) sent his public order office together with the police over the weekend. On Saturday night in Weserstraße, which is known for its density of pubs, you could watch the uniformed go from bar to bar and Späti to Späti. Guests had to get up, waiters had to clear away the tables that were cramped on the sidewalk. No bar was closed.
In the end, according to Hikel, only 13 bars were checked. His conclusion on Tuesday on Facebook: He was "horrified", "there was no complaint in one bar - in all the others, the public order office and police had their hands full". There were therefore 15 violations because no contact lists were kept or no face mask was worn. Most pubs had way too many tables or chairs on the sidewalk. Instead of finding insight from the drinking people, his people should have "listened to lectures from many guests about corona conspiracy theories".
In Neukölln alone, new sources of infection have emerged in three pubs in the past few months. In one case, the health department called for the guests because of incomplete contact lists. At least 22 infections became known.
In Berlin-Mitte, too, the district checked the drinking mile around Rosenthaler Platz and Torstrasse at the end of July. The result: 50 reports of violations of hygiene regulations. Previously, at least ten guests in a bar under the Berlin TV tower had tested positive for the corona virus.
Now the district mayor of the Mitte district, Stephan von Dassel (Greens), asked to learn from other cities: "After the positive experiences from Hamburg, I think it might be possible to restrict the sale of alcohol outside the home." Bars are easier to control. "But that's hardly possible on the street." So far, neither bars nor groups of people partying on the streets have had too much to fear in the capital.
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 200811-99-127466 / 4