As Berlin’s ban on dancing continues amidst a rise of COVID-19 cases, a group of 11 clubs and promoters are taking legal action.
The group, which includes Club OST, Insomnia, Matrix, Aseven, KitKatClub, Revolver Party, Soda Club, Der Weiße Hase, and German trance producer Paul Van Dyk, submitted an appeal to Berlin’s administrative court last Thursday, December 16th. It was filed with the support of lawyer Niko Härting.
In a statement on his website, Härting writes that the ban is “unsuitable for protection against infection.” He calls for officials to lift the dance bean before December 30th at the latest. The reasoning for this, he states is the “thousands” of tickets bought for New Year’s Eve parties across Berlin. The inability to throw these parties could account for millions in losses.
Härting also points out that many clubs already implement thorough safety measures to prevent infections. This is in contract with private NYE parties, where dancing bans don’t apply and safety measures aren’t provided. The measures, in essence, drive partygoers from safe environments to unsafe environments, he states.
While it isn’t a part of the legal dispute, Berlin’s Clubcommission recently spoke out against the ban as well. Citing data they obtained in a pilot test, they believe clubs should implement PCR testing as a safe and viable solution.
On December 20th, Germany reported 21,742 COVID-19 cases. 70.3% of German citizens are fully vaccinated.
