Berlin is temporarily banning dancing inside nightclubs and other music venues from December 8.

The decision was confirmed by the Senate of Berlin over the weekend, as a response to rising COVID-19 infection rates in the region, and more widely across Germany. The new restrictions had been expected after Germany's federal government ruled on December 2 that all clubs must close in states where at least one area has a COVID-19 infection rate of 350 new infections per 100,000 people per seven-day incidence. As of December 3, when the dancing ban was put in place, Berlin's rate sat at 361 per 100,000 people.

Clubs were allowed to open for events one last time before the ban came into place this past weekend, with a ruling in place that they could only operate at 50 percent capacity for parties. The 50 percent capacity restriction had been made official from November 27, before this latest ruling meant that clubs would be forced to close entirely for the foreseeable future.