Berlin clubs reduced to 50% capacity from this weekend due to rising Covid-19 cases

Berlin clubs are to be reduced to 50% capacity from this weekend due to rising cases of COVID-19.

Due to a new ruling, venues and nightclubs in the German capital will only be able to operate at half-capacity from Saturday, 27th November. It’s the latest development in a rollercoaster few months for the city regulations-wise.

Speaking to Resident Advisor, the owner of Mitte clubs Fitzroy and Marie-Antoinette, Rémi Letournelle, confirmed the news. “It’s not fully clear if we have to keep masks for concerts or limited capacity or minimum distance between people, which pretty much equals half capacity,” he said. “It’s still up in the air.”

The new ruling – referred to as the ‘2G Plus’ rule – also means that clubbers who have been vaccinated against COVID-19 or have recently recovered from the virus must show a negative test result in order to gain entry.

The news comes days after it was announced that clubs in the German state of Bavaria have been forced to close for three weeks starting from 22nd November.

Germany has a lower than average vaccination rate compared to much of Western Europe, and the rate of cases is reaching a new high across the nation. Earlier this week, Germany’s acting Health Minister Jens Spahn urged all German citizens to get vaccinated as soon as possible, warning that people will either be “vaccinated, cured or dead” by the end of winter.

Berlin’s Clubcommission also recently issued a statement in response to the shifting of the conversation in the country towards blaming increasing COVID-19 rates on nightlife, saying venues had been depicted in the “wrong light”.