Protests against Germany's Covid restrictions
turn violent as Europe moves to stem Omicron
By Joshua
Berlinger and Stephanie Halasz, CNN
Updated
1452 GMT (2252 HKT) December 28, 2021
Paris (CNN)Protesters tossed bottles and fireworks at
police in eastern Germany on Monday night in some of the most violent
demonstrations against public health measures in Europe since the Covid-19 pandemic
began.
Hundreds of
people gathered in various cities and towns on Sunday and Monday to voice their
opposition to stricter social distancing rules that went into effect Tuesday
across Germany. Gatherings are now limited to 10 people for those vaccinated or
recovered from Covid-19, while households with unvaccinated people must not
meet with more than two other people from one other household at a time.
Some 500
people marched to the city center in the city of Bautzen, in Saxony, late into
the night Monday in violation of public health regulations, some of them
carrying anti-vaccination signs. Twelve police officers were injured and twelve
emergency vehicles were damaged as protesters clashed with police.
Scuffles
broke out in several parts of the state, Saxony police said, while television
footage showed demonstrators throwing objects and shouting insults at officers.
Twenty-three
people were criminally charged and another 183 were hit with less-serious
administrative violations, police said.
Protesters
scuffle with police officers during a demonstration in Bautzen on Monday.
Protesters
scuffle with police officers during a demonstration in Bautzen on Monday.
The
protests in Germany come as Europe prepares for a surge in new coronavirus
cases heading into the New Year holiday. While there remain pockets of
communities opposed to Covid-19 vaccines and social distancing measures
throughout the continent, anti-vaxxers have become increasingly violent in
eastern Germany, which has been the scene of many protests and where the uptake
of vaccines is lower than the national average in most states.
Similar
scenes of violence played out on Sunday in various places, including the
Bavarian town of Schweinfurt, where hundreds of protesters also violated public
health regulations to gather. Eight police were injured after being punched and
kicked there, authorities said.
A
27-year-old woman was criminally charged after she was accused of trying to
break police cordon in the town with her 4-year-old child in tow, both of whom
were pepper sprayed, authorities said.
Politicians
and media outlets have reportedly received packages containing raw meat and
threats from alleged anti-vaxxers, and, earlier this month, authorities
uncovered a purported plot to assassinate Saxony Governor Michael Kretschmer.
Kretschmer has been pushing for people in his state to get vaccinated and
receive booster shots. Six people were arrested and questioned in relation to
the allegations but later released.
Germany's
vaccination rate lags behind its neighbors in Western Europe, with 70.9% of the
population having received both of their doses. Saxony's vaccination rate, at
63%, is the lowest of any German state. German health authorities have said
that more people need to be vaccinated to protect the country from a new wave
of cases driven by the increase of the Omicron variant across Europe during the
holiday season.
Germany
earlier this month put in place a nationwide lockdown for unvaccinated people,
banning them from accessing all but the most essential businesses. New
Chancellor Olaf Scholz supports mandatory vaccinations and wants a law drafted
that could be voted on by the parliament in late February. Parliament is due to
meet in early January to begin discussions.
Omicron derails holiday plans, strains hospitals
Governments
across Europe have in recent days enacted new measures to limit public
gatherings, fearing that Omicron could overwhelm hospitals given how fast it's
spreading, especially among the unvaccinated.
Germany's
Constitutional Court also ruled that legislators need to set triage rules if
intensive care units fill up with coronavirus patients. The German Intensive
Care and Emergency has said that only one sixth of all ICU beds in the country
are available.
After
reporting a record-breaking 104,611 Covid-19 infections on Christmas Day,
France enacted a series of restrictions Monday limiting where people can eat,
mandating more work from home options when possible, and curtailing the size of
public gatherings. However, the government stopped short of putting in place
curfews or lockdowns and will let local leaders to decide whether they need to
implement outdoor mask mandates.
Italy will
close all nightclubs and bars in January, while Portugal closed schools, bars
and clubs until January 10. Spanish authorities have reinstated a nationwide
outdoor mask mandate and six northern regional governments have agreed to
coordinate early closing hours for restaurants, bars and nightclubs -- a move
affects 14 million people, about 29% of Spain's population.
Madrid, however,
will be one of Europe's few major cities to ring in the New Year with a large
celebration. Barcelona and Valencia have canceled their fireworks displays in a
bid to get people to stay at home. Berlin, London, Paris, Rome and Venice have
also axed their traditional festivities.
CNN's
Barbie Nadeau, Al Goodman and Vasco Cotovio contributed reporting
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