BRUSSELS (AP) — Police fired water cannons and thick clouds of tear gas in Brussels on Sunday to disperse demonstrators protesting against COVID-19 vaccinations and restrictions that aim to curb the fast-spreading omicron variant.
The protest drew thousands of people, some traveling from France, Germany and other countries to take part. Protesters yelled “Liberty!” as they marched. Demonstrators also marched in Barcelona.
The protests followed demonstrations in other European capitals on Saturday that also drew thousands of protesters against vaccine passports and other requirements that European governments have imposed as the omicron variant causes surging daily coronavirus infections and hospitalisations.
In Brussels, white-helmeted police riot officers repeatedly charged after protesters who ignored instructions to disperse. Police water cannon trucks fired powerful jets and snaking trails of gas filled the air in the Belgian capital.
A protest leader broadcasting over a loudspeaker yelled, “Come on people! Don't let them take away your rights” as police officers faced off against demonstrators who hurled projectiles and insults.
“Go to hell!" shouted one protester wearing a fake knight's helmet with a colorful quiff.
Some protesters harassed a video team covering the march for The Associated Press, pushing and threatening the journalists and damaging their video equipment. One protester kicked one of the journalists and another tried to punch him.
In downtown Barcelona, protesters wore costumes and waved banners reading “It’s not a pandemic, it’s a dictatorship,” as they marched against against restrictions imposed by both national and regional authorities to curb a surge in COVID-19 cases fueled by the omicron variant.
Participants included people rejecting vaccines and those who deny the existence or gravity of the virus that causes COVID-19. Few donned face masks, which are currently mandatory outdoors in Spain. Police said 1,100 people attended the demonstration.
Spain, a country of 47 million, has officially recorded over 9 million coronavirus cases, although the real number is believed to be much higher. Nearly 92,000 people have died in Spain since the beginning of the pandemic.
With over 80% of Spain's residents vaccinated, experts and authorities have credited the shots for having saved numerous lives and the total collapse of its public health system.
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Thousands of people gathered in European capitals Saturday to protest vaccine passports and other requirements governments have imposed in hopes of ending the coronavirus pandemic.
Demonstrations took place in Athens, Helsinki, London, Paris and Stockholm.
Marches in Paris drew hundreds of demonstrators protesting the introduction from Monday of a new COVID-19 pass. It will severely restrict the lives of those who refuse to get vaccinated by banning them from domestic flights, sports events, bars, cinemas and other leisure venues. French media reported that demonstrators also marched by the hundreds in other cities.
In Sweden, where vaccine certificates are required to attend indoor events with more than 50 people, some 3,000 demonstrators marched though central Stockholm and assembled in a main square for a protest organized by the Frihetsrorelsen - or Freedom Movement.
Swedish media reported that representatives from the neo-Nazi Nordic Resistance Movement attended the action with a banner. Police closely monitor the group, which has been associated with violent behavior at demonstrations.
Swedish security police had warned that right-wing extremists might take part in Saturday's protest. No major incidents or clashes were reported by late afternoon.
A similar demonstration with some 1,000 participants was held also in Goteborg, Sweden’s second-largest city.
The Finnish government authorized local and regional authorities just before Christmas to introduce “extensive and full measures” in response to rising virus cases involving the omicron variant.
The restrictions included limiting or prohibiting events, moving university classes online, limiting restaurant service and closing venues where people have a higher risk of exposure. Restaurants and events are allowed to require vaccine passports.
Police said some 4,000 people marched Saturday through the streets of central Helsinki to protest. A group called World Wide Demonstration organized the demonstration. No unrest or violence was reported to police.
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WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — New Zealanders are set to face new COVID-19 restrictions after nine cases of the omicron variant were detected in a single family that flew to Auckland for a wedding earlier this month, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced Sunday.
The so-called “red setting” of the country's pandemic response includes heightened measures such as required mask wearing and limits on gatherings, and the restrictions will go into effect on Monday.
Ardern stressed that “red is not lockdown,” noting that businesses can remain open and people can still visit family and friends and move freely around the country.
"Our plan for managing omicron cases in the early stage remains the same as delta, where we will rapidly test, contact trace and isolate cases and contacts in order to slow the spread,” Ardern told reporters in Wellington on Sunday.
New Zealand had been among the few remaining countries to have avoided any outbreaks of the omicron variant, but Ardern acknowledged last week that an outbreak was inevitable given the high transmissibility of the variant.
The country has managed to contain the spread of the delta variant, with an average of about 20 new cases each day. But it has seen an increasing number of people arriving into the country and going into mandatory quarantine who are infected with omicron.
That has put strain on the quarantine system and prompted the government to limit access for returning citizens while it decides what to do about reopening its borders, angering many people who want to return to New Zealand.
About 93% of New Zealanders aged 12 and over are fully vaccinated and 52% have had a booster shot. The country has just begun vaccinating children aged between 5 and 11.