COVID RAGE RIPS THROUGH EUROPE
■ Lockdowns trigger riots in the streets ■ Is Germany next to order forced jabs? ■ Javid insists UK will be safe for Christmas
VIOLENT protests erupted across Europe at the weekend in a backlash against a fresh wave of Covid restrictions.
Demonstrators clashed with police in the Netherlands and Belgium, while thousands of activists took to the streets in Austria, Croatia, Denmark and Italy over draconian new rules.
Hundreds of people even gathered at Belfast City Hall on Saturday to protest against the introduction of vaccine passports to enter nightclubs, bars and restaurants from next month.
As well as lockdown measures, Austria has become the first country in Europe to make vaccinations mandatory, with the law coming into force on February 1.
Last night, it emerged Germany may follow Austria’s example and force citizens to have the jab after the country recorded its highest case numbers since the beginning of the pandemic.
But Health Secretary Sajid Javid yesterday ruled out mandatory vaccination in Britain and said families can ‘look forward’ to Christmas together as UK cases remain stable.
In Brussels yesterday, 35,000 people joined a rally protesting about Belgium’s vaccine passport and mask rules, with police using tear gas and a water cannon to disperse crowds who hurled bottles, rocks and sticks amid reports of injuries.
Last week, Belgium announced it was toughening up restrictions on social interactions after cases reached their highest daily rate since last winter.
Around 280 people per day are being admitted to hospital.
Prime minister Alexander de Croo said people should again work from home where possible but said he hoped to keep ‘society open’. Yesterday’s large-scale protest in Brussels, close to the capital’s EU district, started out peacefully until one group began throwing fireworks at officers.
Several hundred who stayed behind as darkness fell then started hurling objects at police and setting bins alight. Officers, who had also deployed riot vans, responded with tear gas and water cannon. The demonstrators called for the scrapping of vaccine passports and jab mandates for healthcare workers. Belgium’s vaccine passport, known as the Covid safe ticket, effectively bans the unjabbed from hospitality, sports and cultural events.
The Netherlands also faced a weekend of serious unrest, with cars set on fire and officers attacked in Rotterdam. The city’s mayor condemned the scenes as ‘an orgy of violence’ and at least 51 people were arrested, while it was feared police shot and wounded at least four people.
Officers were said to have fired warning shots as well as direct shots as the situation became ‘life threatening’. A state of emergency was called as hundreds of hooded protesters targeted police cars and smashed shop windows.
On Saturday, further scenes of carnage broke out at The Hague with cars and bicycles set on fire. Police again resorted to using water cannon and arrested at least 19 people.
Europe is now the epicentre of the pandemic, with a fourth wave already overwhelming hospitals in eastern countries including Slovakia, Romania and the Czech Republic.
Austria will go into a national lockdown of at least ten days from today after a spike in cases, which will see all non-essential businesses closed and travel to the country banned unless for absolutely essential reasons. The country’s strict lockdown and curbs being introduced across other major European destinations has reignited fears that travel from Britain to popular destinations could once again be derailed.
Vaccine hesitancy, fuelled by social media and conspiracy theories, has led to take-up rates stalling across the continent – with many protests also focusing on opposition to the jab.
In Austria, around 64 per cent of people are fully-vaccinated, compared with 67 per cent in Germany, 73 per cent in Italy and 74 per cent in Belgium. Around 68 per cent of Britons are fully-vaccinated.
But Mr Javid was joined by experts in playing down the chances of a major spike in infections in the UK this winter, provided people continue to get vaccinated. Mr Javid said the Government’s decision to unlock at the start of summer and the rollout of boosters would help avert another winter lockdown.
He told Sky News’ Trevor Phillips On Sunday: ‘As we all look forward to Christmas, it’s very sad to see cases rising and surging in certain parts of Europe.
‘We’ve always known that this virus – it loves the winter, it likes the cold darker days that winter brings – and we need to make sure that we are doing everything we can to protect ourselves against that. What’s made a real difference here in the UK is our booster programme... almost 15million booster jabs given already covering some quarter of the population over the
‘Throwing fireworks’
‘Smashed shop windows’
age of 12.’ He urged people to continue to take up the vaccine, and said: ‘Please come forward and let’s look forward to Christmas together.’
It is not yet known whether rising Covid cases on the continent will affect Britons travelling to Europe. The World Health Organisation has said it is ‘very worried’ about a rise in infections across Europe, with regional director Dr Hans Kluge warning half a million more deaths could be recorded by March without urgent action.
He said mandatory vaccinations should be a ‘last resort’ but said measures such as Covid passports are ‘not a restriction of liberty, but a tool to keep our individual freedom’. A Brussels police spokesman said 40 demonstrators were arrested after yesterday’s rally. Police said six of their vehicles had been damaged during the protest.