Demonstrators march down the Friedrichstrasse street as they protest against the current measures to curb the spread of coronavirus in Berlin, Germany on Saturday. Photo: AFP

Loudly chanting their opposition to face masks and vaccines, thousands gathered in Berlin on Saturday to protest against coronavirus restrictions before being dispersed by police.

Police put turnout at around 20,000 - well below the 500,000 organizers had announced as they urged a "day of freedom" from months of virus curbs.

Despite Germany's comparatively low toll, authorities are concerned about a rise in infections over recent weeks and politicians took to social media to criticize the rally as irresponsible.

"We are the second wave," shouted the crowd, a mixture of hard left and right and conspiracy theorists as they converged on the Brandenburg Gate, demanding "resistance" and dubbing the pandemic "the biggest conspiracy theory."

Few protesters wore a mask or respected the 1.5-meter social distancing requirement, AFP reported, despite police repeatedly calling on them via megaphone to do so.

After several warnings, Berlin police ordered demonstrators to leave the area at the end of the afternoon.

A handful of people held a counter demonstration. Dubbing themselves "grandmothers against the extreme right," they hurled insults against "Nazi" protesters.

Several politicians condemned the demonstration as Germany seeks to minimize transmission of a virus which had claimed just over 9,000 deaths as of Saturday - a far lower toll than its neighbors.

AFP