Corona current: Police stop illegal carnival parade

Corona current
Police stop illegal carnival parade

© Bilderstoeckchen / Shutterstock

Last Sunday the police had to stop an illegal carnival parade in the south of Thuringia, in which around 90 people took part. According to the police spokesman, they had arranged to meet on social networks.

Jüchsen is a small village in the Schmalkalden-Meiningen district in the south of Thuringia. According to a police spokesman, the district to which the village belongs currently has the highest weekly number of corona infections with 471 infections per 100,000 inhabitants – and that in the entire state, according to the "Mitteldeutsche Rundfunk". This makes Jüchsen a corona hotspot. However, this did not prevent around 90 celebratory people from gathering for an illegal Candlemas parade on Sunday.

Large-scale police operation in Jüchsen

According to the police, the party people had arranged to meet on social media. Including horses and decorated vehicles – and apparently without mouth and nose protection and minimum distances, reports the "Mitteldeutsche Rundfunk" on Facebook, referring to the statement of the Schmalkalden-Meiningen district office.

The police were on site with a large-scale operation and issued four reports of administrative offenses and three criminal reports of insults and resistance to police officers.

"Puts organized carnival in a completely wrong light"

The regional association of Thuringian Carnival Associations properly does not allow any events to take place and is therefore not responsible for organizing the move. On its website, the association clearly distinguishes itself from the spectacle: "In the currently difficult Corona times, this is simply irresponsible and puts the organized carnival in a completely wrong light."

The identities of the participants should be determined

District administrator Peggy Greiser was also appalled according to "Zeit Online": "In view of the current serious situation, it is absolutely irresponsible and cannot be tolerated what happened in Jüchsen." Greiser openly condemned the participants in the move and pointed out the hard-working hospital staff and the fear for the economic existence that our society is currently struggling with: "And here they celebrate carnival." According to the "stern", she announced that she wanted to determine the identities of the participants in the move and that she wanted to enforce appropriate punishments for violations of the applicable corona rules.