MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 25th October, 2020) Unknown people attempted overnight to set fire to a building of the Berlin-headquartered Robert Koch Institute, an institution in charge of keeping count of COVID-19 cases in Germany, the city police said on Sunday.
"Incendiary devices were hurled at the facade of the Robert Koch Institute building last night," police said in a press release.
A security officer is reported to have spotted several individuals throwing bottles at the building at about 2:40 local time (1:40 GMT). As a result of the incident, the window was smashed. The fire was extinguished, and no one sustained injuries.
Police have launched investigation, not ruling out political motives behind the attack.
The attack comes as European countries, including Germany, struggle to tackle the second wave of the pandemic. In an address to the nation on Saturday, Chancellor Angela Merkel warned that the coronavirus is spreading more rapidly than at the beginning of the year, which indicates that the country is yet to face its most difficult months. The chancellor urged Germans to refrain from traveling, outdoors meetings and activities.
