Germany debates vaccine mandate as latest virus wave sweeps Europe

▶ Netherlands hit by violent clashes over lockdowns while WHO is ‘very worried’ about rise in Covid-19 cases

Protests in Europe against lockdowns are becoming violent as the continent battles another wave of the coronavirus.

Faced with at least a third lockdown since last year, some people resorted to violent protests against the latest restrictions imposed to slow the spread.

In the Netherlands, more than 50 people were arrested and five police officers injured.

At one point, armed officers opened fire with live rounds on a crowd in Rotterdam.

Ahmed Aboutaleb, the city’s mayor, called the rioting an “orgy of violence” and said that “on a number of occasions the police felt it necessary to draw their weapons to defend themselves”.

Dutch authorities also used water cannon, dogs and mounted police to stop youths who lit fires and threw fireworks.

In Austria, 40,000 people protested against restrictions scheduled to take effect today.

Infection numbers are soaring in Austria, mainly because of low vaccination acceptance.

It is the first European country to make inoculation mandatory for adults, sparking outrage among far-right parties who held up banners in Vienna decrying “Corona dictatorship”.

Austria also banned all tourist visits from abroad until at least December 13.

In France, a fifth wave of infections is rising at a rapid pace. New coronavirus cases almost doubled in the past week.

“The fifth wave is starting at lightning speed,” a government spokesman said.

“There is a very strong increase in infections, but we also know that in France we have a very large vaccination cover.”

The surge has not led to an influx of hospital admissions, largely a result of vaccination.

France has a pass that must be shown to enter restaurants, and its government said it will continue to impose restrictions on the unvaccinated.

But it is Austria’s strict ruling that will be monitored closely by other countries in western Europe, especially Germany, which has recorded a fivefold increase in case numbers in the past month, to almost 50,000 a day, despite having a high level of vaccination.

The growing debate over compulsory vaccination intensified yesterday after Germany’s tourism chief stated that it was “unavoidable” that a mandate would be introduced.

“It is politically no longer justifiable that entire industries … live in a state of crisis while others take the freedom not to vaccinate,” Thomas Bareiss MP said.

Booster doses are required six months after the second shot as immunity wanes.

The WHO said it was “very worried” about Europe.

“Covid-19 has become once again the number one cause of mortality in our region,” said Dr Hans Kluge, the WHO’s Europe director.

He told the BBC that without urgent action, half a million more people could die of Covid-19 in Europe by March.

Thousands marched in Croatia, while in Denmark, 1,000 people demonstrated against plans to reinstate a Covid pass for civil servants.

Anger over more restrictions is also growing in Italy.

In the UK, about 25 per cent of the adult population has received a third dose. A specialist said as many as 500,000 lives were saved by vaccines.

“If we just look at the UK, the predictions last year were that there would be between 300,000 and 500,000 deaths,” said Prof Sir Andrew Pollard, who helped to develop the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine.

Germany has recorded a fivefold increase in daily virus case numbers in the past month to almost 50,000 a day