Several protests took to the streets of countries such as Lebanon, Denmark and Guatemala where the governments introduced new restrictions to prevent COVID-19 infections.
In a world with increasingly important border controls, restrictions and confinement to fight the coronavirus are causing riots and demonstrations, as was the case in the Netherlands and Denmark, where closures in establishments or restricted hours for trade, they have the citizens concerned. Here we tell you what is happening in some cities around the world.
Denmark
Five people were arrested on Saturday, January 23 in Copenhagen in a demonstration against the coronavirus restrictions. The protesters burned a mannequin representing Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, police and local media said. The police are investigating the burning of the mannequin, something unusual in a demonstration in Denmark.
“There were five arrests in connection with the demonstration and the disorder that ensued,” Danish police said on Twitter. The demonstration, organized by a radical group, went through the Danish capital with torches shouting “Freedom for Denmark! We are tired!”.
Men in Black Danemark is an active group on Facebook that has been organizing demonstrations against the measures imposed by the Danish government for more than a month. “We lack a long-term plan and strategy! We need to be presented with alternative solutions to a complete blockade, ”the group’s description reads. In the country, 194,671 cases of COVID-19 and 1,983 deaths were confirmed, according to the report of the World Health Organization (WHO) of January 25.
Holland
In several cities in the Netherlands, clashes and looting were registered to protest against the curfew that came into effect on Saturday; the first curfew (21H00-04H30) since the Second World War, with which they seek to mitigate COVID-10 infections. Violators face a fine of 95 euros ($ 115).
There were incidents in Amsterdam, Eindhoven, The Hague, Breda, Arnhem, Tilbourg, Enschede, Appeldoorn, Venlo and Ruremond. Authorities deployed at least one water cannon and police dogs in the Museumplein, a square in the center of Amsterdam, where hundreds of protesters were, according to NOS television.
At least 100 people were arrested, the Amsterdam mayor’s office said in a statement on Sunday, which estimates that some 1,500 protesters gathered in the city. In the Netherlands, 948,933 cases of COVID-19 and 13,540 deaths were confirmed, according to the WHO report on January 25.
Spain
Thousands of people demonstrated this Saturday in the center of Madrid against the government’s restrictive measures to contain the pandemic, and denounce the “deception” of a virus that according to some “does not exist”. Shouting and in a hostile atmosphere towards the press, thousands of people marched from the Atocha train station to the Plaza de Colón, in an act that drew more public than another similar mobilization in November.
Many participated in the protest without a mask, despite the legal obligation to wear it at all times on public roads and in the middle of the third wave, with more than 400 daily deaths this week. “People have to take off the blindfold, be less afraid and realize that this is a bad flu, that you have to pass it and that’s it,” Milagros Solana, a 71-year-old retired woman, told AFP under a umbrella with the colors of the flag of Spain.
“There is less mortality than other years,” he added, downplaying the official balance, which accounts for more than 55,000 deaths and 2.5 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Spain since the start of the pandemic. “Many people have died, the health workers are leaving their skin (…) and that all that progress is ruined by an act in which people without masks are participating, without keeping a safe distance, makes me want to cry sincerely ”, criticized in the middle of the demonstration a young man who did not want to reveal his name.
To curb the epidemic, the government has been applying a night curfew, mobility between regions is very restricted and several of them have hardened the measures these days, such as Madrid, which advanced the closure of the hotel business at 9:00 p.m.
Guatemala
Hundreds of vendors from popular markets protested on Thursday, January 21, in the center of the capital and other cities of Guatemala against the reduction of hours in those shops ordered by the government to stop the increase in COVID-19 infections. The measure is part of the increase in controls announced by the Minister of Health, Amelia Flores, who even threatened to close businesses that fail to comply with health measures due to the shooting of cases that have exceeded a thousand a day, in addition to saturation of hospitals.
According to the new provision, the markets will be able to serve between 6:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m., a space of eight hours that sellers consider insufficient given the losses registered by the mandatory confinements of last year.
“We are beginning to settle certain debts due to having closed. We want to continue to be given the opportunity to have more time open, ”Giovanni Barrios, representative of the Central Market, located a few meters from the National Palace, where the demonstration was held, told AFP. Prior to the new order, the markets worked until 5:00 p.m., also an atypical schedule because before the country was hit by the pandemic, last March, they exceeded 12 hours.
Barrios indicated that popular markets comply with all the “health protocols” required by the government, such as disinfection and use of alcohol gel and masks, so the new restriction seems inappropriate and discriminatory. Guatemala, with almost 17 million inhabitants, has in the last 10 months more than 152,000 cases of covid and about 5,400 deaths.
Canada
It is not the first time that there have been demonstrations in Toronto against the measures imposed by the government to mitigate COVID-19 infections. In fact, every weekend there have been protests in the main streets of the city for months. But it was until January 16 that the demonstrations became stronger, despite the restrictions put in place to prevent the spread of the virus.
Hundreds of people gathered in Yonge-Dundas Square and Nathan Phillips Square where authorities arrived within minutes to try to stop the demonstration. On January 23 the demonstrations again took to the streets of Toronto. Police arrested 10 people and charged seven of them for defying orders to mitigate the virus, which limit outdoor gatherings to five people. The new order also requires Ontario residents to stay at home, with the exception of essential outings such as shopping for groceries and medicine.
Lebanon
Dozens of protesters blocked the streets in central Beirut on January 25 to protest the recent coronavirus restrictions. Local media reported that the protests spread to the main cities of the country. “Tripoli is a poor city and most of its residents depend on their daily work for income; depriving people of their jobs means that they will probably starve to death, ”Jalal Salma, one of the protesters, told Xinhua.
The government imposed a total blockade until February 8 to curb the pandemic. However, the doctors asked for an extension of the blockade due to the infections in recent weeks. In the country, 279,597 cases of COVID-19 and 2,340 deaths were confirmed, according to the report of the World Health Organization (WHO) on January 25.
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With information from Afp *
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