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That’s what the police want to do

Werner Groß (name changed by the editors) is angry. The pensioner has been in a wheelchair for a year because his leg had to be amputated. “I don’t have much more to do than look out the window,” he says. But he doesn’t like what he then has to see. As soon as the weather is good, he watches the crowds that gather across from his apartment on the Mainkai in Würzburg. “With beer crates and music systems,” he says. And above all: “Nobody here adheres to the contact restrictions.”

This editorial team has already reported several times on large gatherings of people at Würzburg hotspots. In addition to the Mainkai, these include the Alte Mainbrücke, the banks of the Main in the Sanderau and the former state horticultural show on Hubland. Especially in sunshine and warm temperatures, many people stay there, often without considering infection control measures.

Are the Würzburg law enforcement officers looking the other way?

There was great excitement among readers of the Main-Post after this editorial team reported that crowds were celebrating on the Mainkai without masks or distance. “The mayor and the police in Würzburg are still in hibernation,” wrote a commentator under the article. “Those responsible believe that they have taken sufficient precautions with the mask requirement on the Old Main Bridge,” says another comment. The tenor: The law enforcement officers look the other way and don’t take enough action. But what do the police say about the allegations and how should breaches of infection control measures be countered in the future?

“The problem mentioned is not being ignored,” explains Martin Meilhammer, press spokesman at the Würzburg-Stadt police station on request. He cites joint patrols with the city’s municipal security service as an example of how the police act. Numerous complaints about crowds throughout the city are also being investigated.

“If, for example, illegal corona parties are found, they will be dissolved and any violations will be punished consistently.” Meilhammer emphasizes that the police are also in constant contact with the city of Würzburg in order to improve the framework conditions in relevant places. The problem of crowds in the current pandemic situation requires a “holistic view” and can only be resolved repressively to a limited extent, since the Bavarian Infection Protection Measures Ordinance does not provide for fines for violations of distance rules.

Reinforced and regular foot strips announced

According to police spokesman Meilhammer, an increased police presence should now help to specifically prevent crowds at the weekend. The police carry out “increased and regular” foot patrols in the area of ​​the Main Quay and other relevant locations. A focus will be placed on “de-escalating and instructive communication”. “We regularly appeal to the common sense and insight of the population. Even if there is a basic understanding of the desire for leisure time behavior, which was and is severely restricted due to the pandemic, there is still a risk of infection,” said the police chief inspector.

In addition to the police, this editorial team also asked the city of Würzburg for an opinion on the future procedure at Würzburg “hotspots”, but received no response by Thursday. City spokesman Christian Weiß referred instead to a press conference on Friday, which, among other things, was about frequenting the banks of the Main and green spaces.

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