Fed up with the restrictions imposed by the coronavirus crisis is boiling over in several countries.
This weekend tens of thousands of people have demonstrated in various parts of the planet against the limitations that governments take to contain the pandemic, festering in a new critical phase due to the growth of the delta variant - up to 60% more contagious - .
The main demonstrations took place in France and Italy, whose leaders have decided to penalize people who do not get vaccinated, preventing them from accessing bars, restaurants, cinemas or theaters.
Thousands of people weary of the restrictions also demonstrated in Sydney, Australia's most populous city, a country that applies tight lockdowns as soon as an outbreak occurs.
More information
Italy will require to be vaccinated or present negative covid test for the interior of bars and restaurants
France imposes the covid certificate for crowded places under the ghost of new 'yellow vests'
These protests coincide with a sensitive moment in the evolution of the pandemic, with vaccination stagnant in some developed countries and without it taking off in those with fewer resources. In addition, the new variants have changed one of the premises of the countries' vaccination strategies: it will be necessary to vaccinate more than 70% of the population, exceed 80% and even approach 90% to reach group immunity. And the global number of new diagnoses has increased by 12% compared to last week, according to the weekly epidemic balance of the World Health Organization. Globally, new cases grew at a rate of almost half a million a day compared to 400,000 the previous week. And with the increase in coronavirus diagnoses, deaths rebound:"After a steady decline for more than two months, the number of reported weekly deaths was similar to the previous week, with almost 57,000 reported deaths," says WHO. The pandemic has already cost the lives of more than four million people.
In this global scenario, tens of thousands of people took to the streets this Saturday throughout France for the second consecutive week to protest against the health certificate, the new rule of the Government of Emmanuel Macron that it seeks, with strong restrictions on social and cultural life and sports of all those who are not yet vaccinated, forcing the still reluctant population to be immunized against covid-19. The protests against these measures still under discussion in Parliament, and which also provide for mandatory vaccination for some professionals, especially health professionals, spread throughout the country. According to the Interior Ministry, at least 161,000 French people participated in the demonstrations, an increase from 114,000 the previous Saturday. In Paris there were only 11,000, but the accession of the yellow vests,The social protest movement that put the French Executive on the ropes between 2018 and 2019, caused some tensions. In updated figures this Sunday, Interior reported that 71 people were arrested in the protests, 24 of them in the capital.
In one of the concentrations in Paris, the far-right Florian Philippot, former number two of the Marine Le Pen National Regrouping, denounced the "health dictatorship" of the French Government and the "
apartheid
" that in his opinion the new regulations represent and asked for the resignation of the "tyrant" Macron, according to French media.
The president, who has just started a tour in French Polynesia after his participation in the opening of the Tokyo Olympics, replied this Sunday that he "fully assumes" measures that seek to "protect" the population and described it as "irresponsible" and "selfishness" the refusal to get vaccinated.
“The freedom to owe nothing to anyone does not exist.
What is your freedom worth if you tell me you don't want to get vaccinated?
If tomorrow you contaminate your father, your mother or me, I will be a victim of your freedom (…) That is not freedom, that is called irresponsibility, selfishness, ”Macron replied from a hospital in Tahiti.
Demonstrators against the health certificate this Saturday in front of the Eiffel Tower in Paris BENOIT TESSIER / Reuters
The new demonstrations took place while the health certificate - whether of vaccination, of having passed the disease or of having tested negative for the coronavirus in the previous 48 hours - was discussed in the French Senate, dominated by the conservative opposition. The hemicycle ended up approving the bill, but made important changes to the text, which must now be analyzed by a mixed commission before its final approval. The Government seeks for this to take place this same Sunday or Monday, in order to start applying the health certificate from August, but the changes imposed in the upper house - such as the exemption of minors from this certificate, which will not be required either. in outdoor spaces such as terraces, according to the Senate version - they could hinder its rapid adoption.Despite this and despite the demonstrations, various polls show that a large majority of French approve the measures announced by Macron in the middle of the month.
In Italy, whose government is striving to stop an incipient spike in infections due to the delta variant, the slowdown in the vaccination campaign has led to the adoption of new restrictions, such as the use of the COVID certificate to access the interior of bars and restaurants. The extension of the requirement of this safe conduct, which until now was only necessary for travel, has aroused the outrage of citizens. Thousands of people have taken to the streets in various cities throughout the country to protest against the introduction of this document that certifies that its possessor has been vaccinated or has overcome the infection and that it will be necessary to carry out certain activities, such as eating inside a restaurant, go to the movies or go to the gym. The wave of protests, although in general minority, has traveled the
boot
from Rome to Turin, passing through Milan, Bologna, Naples or Palermo, among others.
"Freedom, freedom" was the most chanted cry in most cities.
"Slavery passport", "better to live free than to die slaves" or "enough dictatorship" were the slogans that were repeated the most on the banners.
In Rome, some 3,000 people, according to the police count, spontaneously concentrated on Saturday in the central Piazza del Popolo, following a call launched on social networks. Most of the protesters did not wear a mask. There were disorders, but no serious clashes with the security forces and some exponents of extreme right-wing groups also participated, which a few months ago caused serious disturbances in similar protests. In Turin, where about 5,000 people gathered on Saturday, a collection of signatures has begun to request the suspension of the covid certificate. "We want to give a voice to a part of society that is against this type of discrimination," said the organizers. In Milan, some 9,000 people, according to police estimates,they demonstrated on Saturday afternoon in the central Piazza del Duomo. Insults were heard against the Prime Minister, Mario Draghi and allusions to Nazism were seen, such as Stars of David, such as those that the Nazis force Jews to wear, with the inscription "not vaccinated" inside or posters that equated swastikas with the health passport.
The Government of Mario Draghi approved last Thursday new measures to curb infections and among other things, as of August 6, the so-called 'green certificate' must be presented, the safe-conduct that accredits the vaccination or the negative result of a test of recent covid, to access public spaces, such as bars and restaurants, swimming pools, gyms, cinemas, theme parks or casinos. At first it will be enough to have at least one dose of the vaccine, but later on it will be necessary to receive the full regimen. In practice, the measure basically constitutes a technical formula to oblige the entire population to be vaccinated. "The call not to be vaccinated is a call to die", launched Prime Minister Draghi in the presentation of the new uses of the certificate, alluding to some comments from politicians,like Matteo Salvini, who has assured that the vaccine is not necessary for young people. “You don't get vaccinated, you get sick, deaths. Or you make people die: you don't get vaccinated, you get sick, you get infected and he or she dies, ”Draghi continued. And he added that if people do not get vaccinated they run the risk of "having to close everything again."
Protest in Rome's Piazza del Popolo against restrictions on the unvaccinated this Saturday.FILIPPO MONTEFORTE / AFP
The rate of vaccinations, high in recent months, has slowed down in recent weeks, especially among the younger population groups, due to the summer holidays.
On the other hand, although in general adherence to vaccination against covid has been high, the anti-vaccine movement is very strong in the transalpine country.
According to official data, approximately two-thirds of those over 12 years of age have received at least one dose of the vaccine and more than half have completed the vaccination schedule.
In Greece, on Saturday there were also protests from opponents of restrictions imposed on the unvaccinated. More than 4,000 people demonstrated in front of the Parliament in Athens against these limitations and also against the mandatory vaccination of health personnel, according to a Reuters report. The protests ended in clashes with the police, an outcome that already occurred on Wednesday in a protest of a similar nature.
In Spain, the requirement of vaccination or negative test to access the hospitality industry was approved first in Galicia and only for municipalities with unleashed covid.
Afterwards, the Canary Islands have taken the same path.
The Xunta requires the certificate to access the interior of bars and cafes in 36 municipalities, including Vigo, Ourense, Pontevedra, O Grove and Sanxenxo.
This requirement was already mandatory since last Tuesday in all nightlife venues in the community.
Other communities also ask to be immunized or to have a negative covid test to access discos.
Against restrictions in Australia
There have also been protests in Australia, which applies a strict and rapid policy of confinements when detecting outbreaks of the virus and accumulates more than 32,500 cases and 916 deaths since the start of the pandemic. Specifically, the police were forced to intervene in Sydney during a protest in which around a thousand protesters marched through the city center this Saturday against the strict measures imposed to fight the pandemic, while cases continue to increase to Despite the confinement, according to information from Efe. The incidents, which included attempts to block traffic on some of the city's busiest roads and some violent clashes, resulted in at least 57 people arrested and 510 tickets issued,although the police continue to review social networks and security camera images to identify and punish all those who disobeyed the order to stay home.
A protester tries to push aside a police horse during a demonstration against restrictions in Sydney on July 24.STEVEN SAPHORE / AFP
Sydney, the most populous city in Australia, has been under isolation measures from June 27 until next Friday, which include, among others, that citizens remain in their homes, except for relevant exceptions.
The New South Wales Police, whose capital is Sydney, said in a statement that it "recognizes and supports" the right to exercise freedom of expression and peaceful assembly, but that the protest violated current public health orders of the covid- 19 and "the priority of the police is always the safety of the community in general."
The regional health authority reported 163 new cases this Saturday, the highest figure since an outbreak of the delta variant was detected in Bondi in the middle of last month, which has forced more than half of the 25 million inhabitants of the country are under confinement measures.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Sunday that those who violated the measures to protest were "selfish."
And he added: "They do not achieve any purpose because the confinement will not end before."
With information from
Maite Nieto
and
Emilio Sánchez Hidalgo
.