Netherlands: Several arrested as protest in Rotterdam turns violent

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At least two people were shot and injured by officers after violence erupted in Rotterdam over COVID-19 measures. Footage shows water cannons being fired with protestors hurling rocks at police in the main shopping precinct of the major port city.

Crowds of several hundred rioters torched cars, threw fireworks and attacked police vehicles during the protests on Friday night.

The mayor of Rotterdam Ahmed Aboutaleb condemned “an orgy of violence” in which seven people were wounded and more than 20 arrested.

Mayor Aboutaleb told a press conference earlier today: “Police were forced to draw their weapons and even fire direct shots.”

Protestors gathered to voice opposition to government plans to restrict access to indoor venues to people who have a “corona pass”, showing they have been vaccinated or have already recovered from an infection.

The pass is also available to people who have not been vaccinated, but have proof of a negative test.

The measures were set to last for an initial three weeks in a bid to slow a resurgence of coronavirus, but daily infections have remained at their highest levels since the start of the pandemic.

Restrictions were re-imposed by the Netherlands Government last Saturday after the country recorded its highest number of COVID-19 cases since the pandemic started.

Police spokesperson Patricia Wessels told Reuters: “We fired warning shots and there were also direct shots fired because the situation was life-threatening.

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“We know that at least two people were wounded, probably as a result of the warning shots, but we need to investigate the exact causes further.”

Reuters reports that the authorities reported a record of more than 23,000 new cases on Thursday, which is well above the previous daily high of 13,000 reached in December 2020.

Cases of COVID-19 are surging across Europe with Austria’s chancellor Alexander Schallenberg announcing the country will make vaccinations against the virus mandatory.

The country is braced for full-scale lockdown restrictions in two major areas amid a surge in hospitalisations linked to COVID-19.

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Up to 10,000 people are expected to march through the streets of Vienna today fuelling fears of violence.

The Austrian Government is also bracing for violence today after it announced it would be a requirement to get vaccinated from 1 February with the country entering a national lockdown on Monday which is set to last a maximum of 20 days.

Mr Schallenberg said: “Whipped up by radical anti-vaxxers, by fake news, too many among us didn’t get vaccinated.

“The results are overcrowded intensive care units and enormous suffering.”

About 66 percent of Austria’s 8.9 million population is vaccinated, one of the lowest rates in Europe.

Germany is also seeing a surge with the latest figures from the Robert Koch Institue showing 5,312,215 cases of coronavirus and 98,987 deaths.

Chancellor Angela Merkel has already announced curbs on public life for people who have not had a vaccine in areas where hospitals are filling fast.

The German health minister Jens Spahn also hinted the country could follow Austria in announcing a full lockdown.

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