Thousands in Brussels protest against COVID restrictions
ABC News
Thousands of peaceful protesters have demonstrated in central Brussels for a third time against reinforced COVID-19 restrictions imposed by the Belgian government to counter a spike in infections and the emergence of the worrying omicron variant
BRUSSELS -- Thousands of peaceful protesters demonstrated in central Brussels on Sunday for a third time against reinforced COVID-19 restrictions imposed by the Belgian government to counter a spike infections and the emergence of the worrying omicron variant.
A strong police presence was deployed on streets in anticipation of the crowds, given how previous protests had sometimes descended into violence, arrest and injury.
The marchers — some with placards reading “free zone,” “I've had my fair dose” and “enough is enough” — came to protest the government’s strong advice to get vaccinated, and included Belgian health care workers who will have a three-month window in which to get vaccinated against the coronavirus from Jan. 1 or risk losing their jobs.
The Belgian action comes one day after similar protests in other capitals including Paris and London. Nations across Europe moved to reimpose tougher measures to stem a new wave of COVID-19 infections spurred by the highly transmissible omicron variant, with the Netherlands leading the way by imposing a nationwide lockdown.
