In view of repeated violent incidents in the ongoing protests against the corona measures, politicians and experts are warning of further radicalization. In the words of the North Rhine-Westphalian Interior Minister Herbert Reul (CDU), right-wing extremists are increasingly instrumentalizing the protest. On Sunday evening, Reul said on Bild TV about the extremist part of the protesters: "They are extremely dangerous because they now not only talk, gossip, incite each other, but also take action." Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania's Prime Minister Manuela Schwesig (SPD) said "Bild" newspaper: "Our society and the state must stand up to the splitters and corona agitators. Because in the end they not only threaten politicians, but all of us. "

Also on Bild TV, the terrorism researcher Peter Neumann described it as possible that the protests against the corona policy and against vaccination will pose terrorist dangers in the near future. There have been isolated "more complex attacks" on the Robert Koch Institute or on clinics and vaccination centers, said Neumann. He could therefore imagine “that in a few months we may actually have to speak of a terrorist campaign”.

Neumann was worried about indications "that people within the scene are already preparing specifically to not only justify violence, but also to seize it".

Already there is "a kind of uninhibited, affect-laden violence" when journalists or people in shops are attacked because someone is not wearing the mask properly.

Neumann was convinced that the discussion about compulsory vaccination and vaccination of children would lead to further radicalization: “These are two highly emotional issues that the scene sees as a signal and that can serve as a trigger of extreme acts. "

Faeser wants to crack down on Telegram

Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) meanwhile announced tougher action against the messanger service Telegram, which is often used by opponents of the corona measures and by conspiracy theorists. "We have to act more resolutely against agitation, violence and hatred on the Internet," said Faeser in view of calls for violence on Telegram to the newspapers of the Funke media group. 

Messenger services are currently not covered by the Network Enforcement Act (NetzDG) ​​insofar as they are intended for individual communication, explained Faeser. Telegram can now publish messages in public groups with up to 200,000 members, which makes the service a network like Facebook or Twitter. “The Federal Office of Justice carried out two proceedings against Telegram for violating the NetzDG, to which Telegram did not respond. This federal government will not accept that, ”said Faeser, without specifying how the government intends to proceed.

Violent corona protests did not occur again until Sunday. Ten people were provisionally arrested in Schweinfurt, Bavaria. Eight of them had hit and kicked officers who wanted to find out their personal details, the police said on Monday night. Two had tried to set a civil vehicle of the Schweinfurt police on fire. The police spoke of "mainly peaceful and police-friendly protesters" at the undisclosed gathering on Sunday. At its peak, between 1,800 and around 2,000 people took part.

In Saxony, the police stopped several elevators from critics of the Corona protective measures in Vogtland on Sunday evening.

In the late afternoon, up to 400 people had gathered in various places in the city of Plauen, as the Zwickau police department announced.

Around 150 people gathered for protests in Auerbach in the Vogtland region.

Seven-day incidence decreased slightly

The nationwide seven-day incidence of new corona infections has meanwhile decreased again slightly.

According to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) on Monday morning, the value was 389.2.

The day before it was 390.9, a week ago it was 441.9.

As the RKI further announced, citing data from the health authorities, 21,743 new infections were recorded within 24 hours.

There are still large regional differences in the infection situation.

The seven-day incidence was highest in Thuringia (1032.7) and Saxony (1024.5).

In Schleswig-Holstein it was 162.4.

When evaluating the infection rate, it should be borne in mind that experts are currently assuming a noticeable underreporting.

Health authorities and clinics can no longer keep up with reporting cases, at least in individual regions.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, the health authorities have reported a total of 6,531,606 cases.

The institute put the number of people recovered from illness caused by the coronavirus in Germany at around 5,435,700.

The total number of corona deaths in Germany rose by 116 to 105,754.

On November 18, the federal and state governments set the so-called hospitalization incidence as the decisive yardstick for tightening the corona measures.

This value indicates how many people per 100,000 inhabitants are in hospital within seven days because of a corona infection.

From a value of three, the 2G rule applies across the board for events in a federal state - that is, only those vaccinated against the coronavirus and those recovered from Covid-19 are allowed.

According to the RKI, the nationwide hospitalization incidence on Friday was 5.71.