Berlin Philharmonic abolishes masks, sort of

Berlin Philharmonic abolishes masks, sort of

News

norman lebrecht

May 01, 2022

Message received:
Dear Ladies and Gentlemen,

Please note that the mandatory wearing of an FFP2 mask in the Philharmonie Berlin will no longer apply from 1 May 2022.

However, for their own safety and the protection of other guests, concert-goers are recommended to continue wearing an FFP2 mask throughout their stay at the Philharmonie Berlin.

Er?

Comments

  • Rustier spoon says:

    And your point is?
    Recommended obviously does not equal mandatory…
    Seems simple enough to me.

  • Peter says:

    Germans are full of nerves. The masks are useless now, but there is so much prestige and politics involved in this, so they can’t really go back from two years of madness. Sad. Germans used to be an intelligent species.

  • ENRIQUE SANCHEZ says:

    Last week, I was at the Berlin Philharmonie’ on vacation to listen to the Alpine Symphony. Everyone had to wear an FFP2 mask – and I did feel ridiculous since no one wore a mask in the city proper. Even in restaurants.

    • MacroV says:

      The “city proper” probably didn’t have 2,400 people sitting cheek-to-jowl indoors.

      • Tamino says:

        Actually tens of thousands were sitting in the city in pubs and bars and exhaling excessively over loud chatter and laughter. Only some neurotic people in Philharmonie proto-sadistically forced everyone who was sitting still and quiet to wear a FFP2 mask anyway, a mask doctors are allowed only to wear for short intervals berfore taking a free breathing break…

        Good at least the ridiculous act of neurotic fear is now terminated.

    • pjl says:

      but nearly everyone does on public transport and most did last night at the Komische Oper

  • Petros Linardos says:

    How is that different from much of the rest of the world these days? Herd refusal to wear masks is here. Let us hope herd immunity will arrive too, one day.

    • MacroV says:

      Herd immunity is not happening as long as one-third of the population refuses to vaccinate. We have it for measles and such because over 95% are vaxxed.

      • Emil says:

        Herd immunity is also not happening as long as only certain portions of the world have access to vaccines, and as long as immunity wanes rapidly.
        The (Western) world has decided it’d rather accept thousands of daily unnecessary deaths than do the bare minimum to protect other people.

        • Hayne says:

          Herd immunity is impossible with these jabs. Even legacy media has acknowledged this.
          The only herd immunity that can develop is in areas with little vaccinated people such as most of Africa. Countries with the most vaccinated people will develop more and more infectious and virulent viruses.

      • Karl says:

        The vaccine won’t help. How many vaccinated People get measles? Almost none. How many vaccinated people get covid? CDC data shows that about 25% of covid cases during the January surge were fully vaccinated.
        https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#rates-by-vaccine-status

        Look at how many people in the news got covid even though they were vaccinated: Kamala Harris, Jesse Jackson, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senator Susan Collins of Maine, Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser, Georgia Democratic senator Raphael Warnock, Attorney general Merrick Garland, Press secretary Jen Psaki and more …

        https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/15/us/politics/democrats-covid-positive.html

      • Tamino says:

        Nonsense MacroV,
        vaccination does nothing to prevent infection. Check the numbers. Check countries who have high vaccination rates, how they fared in the last wave. Stop spreading fake news.

    • Hayne says:

      What you posted from the CDC was a bunch of lies.
      Mark my words. You will see criminal prosecution of them in the future.

  • Gustavo says:

    Rundköpfe und Spitzköpfe

  • John Chunch says:

    Disgusting. One day we will try the people responsible for removing these mask policies in The Hague.

  • PaulD says:

    The BPO’s audience in Liepaja was maskless, along with the orchestra. If only my small U.S. city philharmonic would follow the lead. In its brochure for next season all the musicians are pictured with masks. They’re subject to “anti-racism” training, too.

  • Tom Paine Jr says:

    Watching footage of Ukrainian citizens go grocery shopping in the burning rubble of their cities makes all this perpetual nonsense about wearing masks during a pandemic seem selfish and childish. Perhaps the Chinese pandemic response might have been preferable for a few of you brave warriors of personal freedom out there? The Western world seems to divide into two groups of people: those that have empathy for their fellow humans and those sovereign citizens willing to reap the benefits of freedom without a shred of social responsibility. And if there are any of my fellow Americans reading my comment, take a moment to Google Charles Bukowski’s poem “Trouble”… The final stanza pretty much says it all. Now please excuse me while I cue up Erich Kleiber’s Decca recording of Beethoven’s 5th…

    • Dr. Birchley Poundbottom says:

      Your take here is wrong. Despite the obvious absurdity of “there are two types of” statements, were there to be two types of entities in the west, it would be the great shrieking beast, crying out for daddy’s milk; and the small handful of thinking humans. And I would know, I’m a Doctor.

  • Paul Terry says:

    That white car in the photo never seems to move.

  • Robert Holmén says:

    Someone declares he is “tired” of wearing a mask?

    If wearing a paper mask is too much inconvenience to address a problem, how will our civilization tackle problems that require genuine concerted effort?

  • Petros Linardos says:

    Seems like the vaccination mythologists are back in force, in one of the forums were they are accomodated. Disgraceful.

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