Areas of the Altstadt had been closed off previously to keep visitors away because of the coronavirus pandemic. On Wednesday, the city had said it would keep the closures in place until Sunday.

Still, the public order bureau will continue to enforce the existing rules on contact bans. Especially in front of the Frankenbad swimming facility, it seems to be a popular gathering place for Bonn residents. Time and again, public order officers and police have to order people to leave the area. This happened, for example, on Easter weekend.

Carsten Sperling, the head of the public order bureau responded to a GA inquiry, saying that as a result of that incident, his bureau had increased its presence at the Frankenbad. "Depending on the situation and location, up to eight officers can be deployed to the square in front of the Frankenbad." If this is not enough, the police will be asked for support. The public order office will also take a closer look at other places in the city center. Sperling mentioned the public squares at Johanneskreuz and Weiherstrasse. These are to be "particularly frequently patrolled".

Sperling rejects the criticism that officers are taken away from the cherry blossoms because they are needed more urgently elsewhere, such as at the Frankenbad. "The barricaded areas (at the cherry blossoms) were filled exclusively with additional personnel from other areas of the city administration, who were temporarily assigned to the public order office.”

According to the city administration, a total of 552 people in Bonn have tested positive for the corona virus. 332 people are now reported to have recovered, 1072 people are in quarantine.

(Orig. text: Thomas Leurs, Andreas Dyck, Translation: ck)