Dutch riot police clash with anti-lockdown protesters
Hundreds of demonstrators defy order to gather in Amsterdam, one carrying a ‘Trump 2024’ flag
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Your support makes all the difference.Anti-lockdown protesters who defied an order not to assemble for a demonstration in Amsterdam have clashed with riot police armed with batons and shields.
Hundreds gathered in a square in the Dutch capital on Sunday to oppose Covid restrictions introduced by the government on 19 December.
Police dogs were deployed as a small number of agitators confronted officers in riot gear. It is understood that at least one person was detained.
Another person walked through the crowd carrying a “Trump 2024” flag.
Coronavirus infection rates have been gradually decreasing for weeks in the Netherlands, which reintroduced lockdown measures in November and tightened them further during the holiday season.
Femke Halsema, mayor of Amsterdam, issued an emergency ordinance empowering police to clear the central Museum Square, after the protesters violated a ban on holding public gatherings during the latest wave of coronavirus infections.
The protesters, most of whom did not wear masks and broke social distancing rules, also ignored an order not to hold a march and walked along a main thoroughfare.
Some of those present played music and held yellow umbrellas in a sign of opposition to the government measures.
Under current restrictions, all but essential stores are closed, as are restaurants, hairdressers, gyms, museums and other public places until at least 14 January.
Public gatherings of more than two people are not allowed.
Like other European countries, the Netherlands imposed the measures in an effort to prevent a fresh wave of coronavirus infections driven by the Omicron variant, fearing that it could overwhelm an already strained healthcare system.
Between 26 December and 2 January, an average of 14,436 people tested positive for Covid, according to Dutch government figures.
On Sunday 2 January, 17,531 confirmed cases were reported. The average number of hospital admissions between 22 December and 28 December was 157, according to the figures.
The most recent days are not included in the average, because the figures for these days are not yet complete, officials said.
Additional reporting by agencies
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