Germany’s National Coronavirus Disease Control Center Under Attack

Several people tried to set Germany’s disease control centre on fire in an apparent political attack.

Berlin police said that several people had attacked Germany’s national disease control centre with incendiary devices early Sunday. A security guard had apparently noticed the attack on the Robert Koch Institute in the German capital and was able to quickly extinguished the flames.

Nobody was injured, although one window was destroyed. Criminal police have taken over the investigation on suspicion that the attack may have been politically motivated. Among other things, the institute keeps track of Germany’s coronavirus outbreak. It publishes daily new infection figures and also advises the government and the public on how to keep the pandemic from getting out of control.

While most Germans support the country’s handling of the pandemic, some have tried to downplay the dangers of the virus.