COVID protesters warned after tens of thousands rally in Germany

Worries about a growing protest wave against coronavirus restrictions - even as officials are mulling new restrictions - prompted warnings on Monday, a day after more than 50,000 demonstrated in opposition to anti-coronavirus standards, reported dpa.

Authorities are telling the protesters against coronavirus regulations they should stay off the streets unless their rallies are properly registered, or else they risk fines.

Thomas Strobl, interior minister of the south-western state of Baden-Württemberg, on Tuesday updated an estimate of how many people were at the protesters after authorities released a far lower figure the previous evening.

There were some 170 protests across the state, watched over by more than 2,500 police officers, Strobl told public broadcaster ARD.

"The demonstrations are now a very, very large phenomenon," Strobl said. Many of them were not authorized, and those caught violating rules on large gatherings would face fines, he said.

"The rule of law still applies ... Anyone who organizes something like this, makes themselves open to punishment," he said.

Extremists were being carefully watched, he said.

Tens of thousands of people in other states also came out late on Monday to demonstrate against coronavirus measures and government plans for compulsory vaccinations.

In Mecklenburg-Vorpommern in the north-east, a focal point of the demonstrations in recent weeks, police said about 12,000 people took part in protests.

The state of Thuringia saw about 17,000 people on the streets, police said. About 10,000 protested in Bavaria, and some 2,500 people gathered in the city of Magdeburg in Saxony-Anhalt. Violence broke out at times both in Magdeburg and in protests in the eastern state of Saxony.

The government's expert panel on coronavirus is meeting on Tuesday, and there are further discussions planned between the state and federal health ministers this week, ahead of a key meeting on Friday between state and federal leaders.

The leaders on Friday are expected to agree on new measures, including on quarantine periods, as well as possibly revealing the government's plans to introduce compulsory vaccination.

In anticipation of stricter measures, the city of Hamburg on Tuesday announced a tightening of its own restrictions.

A negative coronavirus test will be needed to enter food and leisure outlets in the city, whether a resident is vaccinated or not. Only those who have had a booster will be able to dispense with a test.

The regional government in Saxony, meanwhile, extended its current coronavirus restrictions for another week, arguing that, by next week the federal and state leaders would have met and the data on the latest coronavirus wave would be clearer.

The benchmark infection rate continues to rise slowly in Germany, despite the fact that infections are likely to be under-reported due to lower testing in the Christmas and New Year period.

The rate of hospitalization has continued a downward trend in the past few weeks. Some 365 people died in the past 24 hours, according to official statistics.