Protests held in more countries
BERLIN: WHO experts on Monday visited the market in China linked to the first known Covid-19 cluster, seeking clues about the outbreak of the pandemic, as protesters in several countries staged fresh demonstrations against their governments’ action - or inaction - on the stillraging coronavirus.
In Belgium, police detained more than 200 people taking part in two banned protests against anti-virus measures. Polish police raided discos that defied restrictions on Saturday, using stun grenades and tear gas to clear dance floors.
In the Netherlands, Amsterdam police cleared out the city’s museum square after some 600 people gathered there for an illegal protest. Thousands of people marched through the Austrian capital Vienna to protest coronavirus restrictions there, ignoring a police ban on the march, with many shunning masks and social distancing. The march was organised by the far-right Freedom Party of Austria.
In Brazil, protestors marched in several cities on Sunday to condemn President Jair Bolsonaro’s handling of the crisis.
The emergence of the new variants has further complicated the fight against the coronavirus. The variant first detected in Britain caused half of all new Covid-19 infections in the Netherlands by January 26, Dutch health minister Hugo de Jonge said on Monday.
A World Health Organization team visited the Huanan food market in Wuhan as part of its fieldwork in a politically sensitive mission to investigate the origins of the pandemic.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson was among a host of well-wishers across UK praying for recordbreaking fundraiser Captain Tom Moore to pull through after the centenarian was admitted to hospital with Covid-19. Moore, who raised almost 40 million pounds ($55mn) by walking 100 lengths of his garden during last year’s lockdown, was diagnosed last week.