As Belgium and the Netherlands have introduced tougher epidemiological restrictions to curb renewed spread of Covid-19, unsatisfied people have joined mass protests. The World Health Organisation has warned, however, that without swift action another half-a-million people could die of the disease in Europe by spring, British news portal The Guardian reports.
In Brussels on Sunday, November 21, tens of thousands of people marched to protest against reinforced restrictions imposed by the Belgian government to counter the latest rise in coronavirus cases. The march, which police estimated involved 35,000 people, began peacefully but descended into violence as several hundred people started pelting officers, smashing cars and setting rubbish bins on fire. Police responded with teargas and water cannon.
Read also: Netherlands introduces new restrictions, protest leads to clashes
The large march in Brussels took place in the Netherlands on Saturday, November 20, when five police officers were injured and at least 40 people arrested. Dutch authorities deployed water cannon, dogs and mounted police to dispel crowds of rioting youths who lit fires and lobbed fireworks in The Hague and elsewhere, after more than 50 people were arrested in Rotterdam on Friday, November 19.
The World Health Organization has voiced estimates that without urgent action in European countries, another 500,000 people in Europe could die of Covid-19 by March 2021. «Covid-19 has become once again the number one cause of mortality in our region,» Kulge said to the BBC, as quoted by The Guardian. «We know what needs to be done» to fight the disease.
Restriction protests in Belgium, Netherlands turn violent, in reaction to protests
