Hundreds protest against coronavirus restrictions in Germany

Hundreds of people took to the streets to protest against coronavirus measures in the German city of Dusseldorf on Sunday, and were met by hundreds of counter-protesters.

Supporters of the Querdenken movement, or Lateral Thinking, had registered 1,000 people to demonstrate against what they say is a "mask lie."

A dpa reporter on the scene estimated that around 800 people showed up to the Querdenken demonstration. The police spoke of a few hundred participants on Sunday evening.

Hundreds of counter-protesters marched in different parts of the city centre at the same time, among them representatives of the Church, trade union members, health workers and anti-racism activists.

Police said there were also a few hundred participants at the counter-protest. Officers were on site throughout the inner city area. The gatherings were largely peaceful, the police said in the evening, adding that three people had been detained during the course of the day.

Meanwhile, the southern German state of Bavaria is doubling down on its coronavirus restrictions, backtracking on a planned easing of rules over the holidays as the coronavirus pandemic keeps the region in its grip.

State premier Markus Soeder said on Sunday that for New Year the existing restrictions - that only five people from two households can meet - will stay in place. The limit would only be raised to 10 people for the Christmas period between December 23 and 26.

Soeder said that from grade eight onwards, classes will be split and the groups will alternate attending school or being taught remotely. If the number of new infections within seven days rises above 200 per 100,000 inhabitants, all students in this age group will be taught remotely, he added.

The new rules come into force on Wednesday.

Bavaria is among the German states with the highest number of new infections, with 175 per 100,000 inhabitants over seven days. The eastern state of Saxony tops the list with 301, followed by Berlin with 182.

Across Germany, an increasing number of patients suffering from Covid-19 are being treated in intensive care wards, raising fears that bed capacity could soon be running low.

According to the Robert Koch-Institute (RKI), 4,100 patients were in intensive care, the third day in a row that this number topped previous highs. Some 17,767 people were newly infected. Reported case numbers tend to be lower on weekends.

The institute said that Saturday 482 people died in connection with the virus within 24 hours, the second-highest daily number of deaths since the beginning of the pandemic.