<p class="title">German police fired water cannon during an anti-lockdown rally in Frankfurt on Saturday and eventually broke up the gathering as rules like wearing masks and socially distancing were not observed.</p>.<p class="bodytext">About 600 people from the loosely organized Querdenker movement that opposes the government’s measures to halt the rise in coronavirus infections took to the streets in Frankfurt.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Police used water cannon to free up the route of the rally, which was blocked several times by about 300 people protesting against the Querdenkers.</p>.<p class="bodytext">A police spokesman said the rally was broken up after protesters repeatedly disregarded rules on wearing masks and keeping a distance from each other.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Meanwhile, leading politicians said any quick relaxation of the country's November lockdown was unlikely. Germany has imposed measures dubbed a "lockdown light" to rein in a second wave of the pandemic. While restaurants are closed, schools and shops so far remain open.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Health Minister Jens Spahn said at an online event of Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservative party that hard weeks, possibly even months, lie ahead.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"It takes a very long time even with very severe measures (to get infection rates down)", Spahn said, pointing to the Southern German Berchtesgaden district, which has been in a full lock-down since Oct. 20.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Bavaria's conservative Prime Minister Markus Soeder said that he does not expect any lockdown rules to be eased before the end of November.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"Whether they need to be extended? Possibly, we will see," he said, adding that decisions would be taken depending how the pandemic evolves in the next two weeks.</p>.<p class="bodytext">And Baden-Wuerttemberg's Prime Minister Winfried Kretschmann told daily Augsburger Allgemeine that relaxing lockdown measures at Christmas would be possible only if the rate of new infections decreases in a significant way.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Germany reported a rise of confirmed coronavirus cases by 22,461 to a total 775,556, data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases showed on Saturday. The reported death toll rose by 178 to 12,378.</p>
<p class="title">German police fired water cannon during an anti-lockdown rally in Frankfurt on Saturday and eventually broke up the gathering as rules like wearing masks and socially distancing were not observed.</p>.<p class="bodytext">About 600 people from the loosely organized Querdenker movement that opposes the government’s measures to halt the rise in coronavirus infections took to the streets in Frankfurt.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Police used water cannon to free up the route of the rally, which was blocked several times by about 300 people protesting against the Querdenkers.</p>.<p class="bodytext">A police spokesman said the rally was broken up after protesters repeatedly disregarded rules on wearing masks and keeping a distance from each other.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Meanwhile, leading politicians said any quick relaxation of the country's November lockdown was unlikely. Germany has imposed measures dubbed a "lockdown light" to rein in a second wave of the pandemic. While restaurants are closed, schools and shops so far remain open.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Health Minister Jens Spahn said at an online event of Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservative party that hard weeks, possibly even months, lie ahead.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"It takes a very long time even with very severe measures (to get infection rates down)", Spahn said, pointing to the Southern German Berchtesgaden district, which has been in a full lock-down since Oct. 20.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Bavaria's conservative Prime Minister Markus Soeder said that he does not expect any lockdown rules to be eased before the end of November.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"Whether they need to be extended? Possibly, we will see," he said, adding that decisions would be taken depending how the pandemic evolves in the next two weeks.</p>.<p class="bodytext">And Baden-Wuerttemberg's Prime Minister Winfried Kretschmann told daily Augsburger Allgemeine that relaxing lockdown measures at Christmas would be possible only if the rate of new infections decreases in a significant way.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Germany reported a rise of confirmed coronavirus cases by 22,461 to a total 775,556, data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases showed on Saturday. The reported death toll rose by 178 to 12,378.</p>