BerlinBerlin's state interior ministry has designated 54 zones where the use of fireworks and other pyrotechnic devices is prohibited this New Year's Eve in the name of slowing the spread of the coronavirus. Just hanging out is also forbidden in these areas.
The sale of fireworks has also been banned in the city, so Berliners will have to use supplies they saved from last year.
Last year, Alexanderplatz in Mitte and Steinmetzkiez/Pallasstraße in Schöneberg were already deemed firework-free zones to prevent "senseless attacks on people", according to Berlin interior minister Andreas Geisel (SPD), meaning firework fun is now prohibited in a total of 56 areas.
"This year was not a normal year and it will not end normally. We have to minimise the risks of infection wherever possible. Setting off firecrackers in groups on the street poses significant risks to our health. Hospital staff are already working at their limit. Therefore, my appeal to the people of Berlin is: stay home, ring in the New Year in a small circle and do so without fireworks and firecrackers," Geisel said.
It won't be possible to prevent every breach of the ban, the interior minister said, "but the police will prepare accordingly and punish violations consistently."
People caught flaunting the rules could face a fine.
Below is the full list of streets, squares and green spaces where the use of fireworks and other pyrotechnic devices is prohibited - as is simply gathering. Passing through is permitted. The authorities have also pointed out that even outside the prohibited zones, setting off New Year's Eve fireworks does not constitute a valid reason for leaving one's own home under the current corona regulations.
1. Alte Frankfurter Allee/Siegfriedstraße/Bahnhof Lichtenberg
2. Altstadt Köpenick
3. Altstadt Spandau
4. Annemirl-Bauer-Platz
5. Around Bahnhofstraße/S-Bahnhof Köpenick
6. Brandenburger Tor/ Tiergarten
7. Breitscheidplatz
8. Drachenfliegerberg (Kleiner Teufelsberg)
9. Falkenhagener Feld
10. Frankfurter Tor
11. Gesundbrunnen
12. Heerstraße Nord
13. Hermannplatz
14. Hermannstraße
15. Huttenkiez
16. Johannisthaler Chaussee/Fritz-Erler-Allee (Gropiusstadt)
17. Around Moabit prison
18. Karl-Marx-Straße
19. Kottbusser Tor/ Kottbusser Damm
20. Leopoldplatz
21. Lichtenberger Brücke
22. Märkisches Viertel
23. Mauerpark
24. Mehrower Allee
25. Modersohnbrücke
26. Monbijoupark/James-Simon-Park
27. Oranienplatz/Oranienstraße
28. Potsdamer Platz
29. Potsdamer Straße/Kurfürstenstraße area
30. Potsdamer Straße/Lützowstraße area
31. Potsdamer Straße/Pohlstraße
32. RAW-Gelände
33. Reinickendorfer Straße 84 (Maxhöfe)
34. Roederplatz
35. Rosenthaler Platz
36. Falkenberger Chaussee skatepark/Vincent-van-Gogh-Straße
37. Simon-Dach-Kiez
38. Sonnenallee
39. Spandauer Neustadt
40. Sparrplatz
41. Thermometersiedlung
42. Traveplatz
43. Treptower Park
44. Around U-Bahnhof Eberswalder Straße
45. Around U-Bahnhof Nauener Platz
46. Around U-Bahnhof Seestraße
47. Volkspark am Weinbergsweg
48. Warschauer Brücke
49. Warschauer Straße
50. Wasserstadtbrücken
51. Weitlingstraße
52. Werner-Düttmann-Siedlung
53. Wismarplatz
54. Wrangelkiez/Görlitzer Park
55. Alexanderplatz
56. Steinmetzkiez/Pallasstraße