Düsseldorf (epd). Thousands of people demonstrated against a possible corona vaccination requirement on Saturday in Düsseldorf. A police spokesman told the Evangelical Press Service (epd) on Saturday afternoon that around 6,000 demonstrators had gathered within sight of the North Rhine-Westphalian state parliament from 3 p.m. and then marched through the city. A total of about a dozen different initiatives, including the so-called lateral thinker movement, had called for the event under the title “Impfzwang nicht mit uns”. There were also several smaller counter-demonstrations.
The Düsseldorf city administration had initially prohibited the demonstration through the city center on Thursday. On Friday, however, the competent administrative court granted an urgent application by the organizers against the administration’s decision. Decisions under assembly law to protect against the risk of infection can only be made by the police, the statement said. The organizers had registered around 2,000 participants.
The police were on site with numerous forces and had cordoned off the area around the state parliament. Before the start of the demonstration, a spokesman for the organizers repeatedly appealed to the participants via megaphones to adhere to the requirements, such as a safety distance of 1.5 meters from one another.
Düsseldorf’s Lord Mayor Stephan Keller (CDU) had previously stated that the city would respect the decision of the administrative court. In view of the rapidly increasing incidence values, however, the city would have liked to include health protection more closely. On New Year’s Day, around 6,500 people demonstrated against the Corona policy in Düsseldorf.
The Bundestag wants to address a general corona vaccination requirement in an orientation debate this month. Last year, it was decided that the staff of facilities in which people particularly at risk from Covid-19 are cared for, treated or cared for were made compulsory. It is valid from March.
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