PHOTO: AFP
PARIS: Hundreds of thousands of residents in several countries, including France and Italy staged protests against the Covid-19 blockade, with police in the country forced to fire tear gas and water cannons to disperse protesters.
About 160,000 protesters joined massive protests across France against a health bill proposed by President Emmanuel Macron.
The bill is seen unvaccinated residents will not be allowed to enter restaurants, cinemas, and public places.
The slogan is ‘Freedom! Freedom! ’Was shouted by the protesters, in addition to describing the bill as embarrassing.
Italy
A similar scheme has also been proposed in Italy, seeing a number of protesters in Rome, Naples, and Turin take to the streets to protest its implementation.
The ‘green pass’ proposed by the Italian health authority may be needed as early as next month to allow people to eat in restaurants and do activities indoors.
London
In London, thousands of residents also staged a demonstration protesting the use of the Covid-19 contact tracking app.
Protesters insisted the app only restricted their movement, especially after more than 600,000 residents were ordered to undergo self-quarantine for a week this month.
The protest came a week after England eased all Covid-19 restrictions.
Australia
Earlier, about 57 protesters were detained after joining a march in Sydney.
Rallies to protest the current curfew were also held in Melbourne and Brisbane.
Most protesters demanded that the curfew be relaxed and the vaccination program speeded up.
Less than 14 percent of the population in Australia has already received the vaccine compared to other countries.
Greece
About 5,000 residents gathered and marched in Athens after the Greek government mandated the injection of the Covid-19 vaccine.
According to police, some protesters acted aggressively by throwing petrol bombs, causing tear gas to be released.
As much as 45 percent of Greece’s 11 million population has already received complete vaccinations.
The country’s authorities have ordered all medical staff and welfare homes as well as teachers to take the vaccine following the increase in recorded cases.
Source: Utusan Malaysia
