Police Shut Down Massive Protest Against Coronavirus Restrictions in Berlin for Failure to Social Distance (VIDEO)

Police in Berlin shut down a massive protest against government restrictions to prevent the spread of coronavirus infections because the demonstrators were not taking proper social distancing measures.

On Saturday, thousands gathered in Berlin to protest, before police swept in to stop them from spreading the coronavirus. The New York Times reports:

Thousands of people took to the streets of Berlin on Saturday, demanding an end to the government measures to prevent the spread of the coronavirus that they argue violate their constitutional rights.

But before the march reached its final destination in the Tiergarten, the police shut down the protest, saying that demonstrators were not following social distancing rules. That came an hour after the police decreed that protesters would have to wear masks.

Officials estimated that 18,000 people had turned out to demonstrate.

The restrictions come amid infection rates that pale in comparison to the average 40,000 confirmed cases a day in the U.S.:

German health authorities registered 1,571 new infections in the past 24 hours on Friday, a slight dip from a recent high point last week, when more than 2,000 new cases were registered in a single day, according to a New York Times database.

The group that organized the protest, based in the southwestern city of Stuttgart, is angry over the economic damage caused by the monthslong lockdown in the spring and restrictions imposed on public life that have led the German economy to shrink by 9.7 percent and caused millions to lose their jobs or be furloughed.

As police announced the end of the protest, demonstrators blew whistles at them in apparent displeasure.

Watch video of the protest and the police action above, via Ruptly.