Berlin - Berlin'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