Covid-19: Dutch police arrest over 30 protesters amid ongoing unrest
EDE, NETHERLANDS: Dutch police have arrested more than 30 people during unrest in The Hague and other towns in the Netherlands that followed an “orgy of violence ” the previous night at a protest against coronavirus restrictions.
The violence by groups of youths in The Hague and elsewhere on Saturday night wasn’t as serious as on Friday night in Rotterdam, where police opened fire on rampaging rioters and arrested 51 people.
Police said on Sunday that they arrested 19 people in The Hague and used a water cannon to extinguish a fire on a street.
There were also demonstrations in Italy, Switzerland, Croatia and Northern Ireland.
Fifth-wave infections in France are rising at an alarming rate, the government reported on Sunday, with new daily Covid cases close to doubling over the past week. The sevenday average of new cases reached 17,153 on Saturday, up from 9,458 a week earlier, according to the health authorities, an increase of 81%. “The fifth wave is starting at lightning speed,” government spokesman Gabrial Attal said.
France is sending police special forces to restore order in the French overseas territory of Guadeloupe hit by rioting and looting amid protests against Covid-19 protocols, French interior minister Gerald Darmanin said on Saturday.
Meanwhile, thousands of people gathered in central Brussels on Sunday to protest against the reinforced Covid-19 measures that the government has imposed to counter the latest spike in coronavirus cases.
Austrians enjoy final day before lockdown
Austrians were enjoying a last day out in coffeehouses and at Christmas markets on Sunday before the government imposes a nationwide lockdown to combat a growing fourth wave of coronavirus infections. The measures, which take effect on Monday and are expected to last for a maximum of 20 days but will be reevaluated after 10, require people to stay home apart from basic reasons like getting groceries, going to the doctor and exercising.