Police deployed water cannon and pepper spray after a gathering of some 20,000 protesters against lockdown and other coronavirus rules in central Germany turned violent, with some demonstrators throwing bottles at police.
One of the demonstrators at the protest in the German city of Kassel. Photo: AFP
Protesters from all over Germany converged on the central city of Kassel for the march, which was organised by the "Querdenker" - "Lateral Thinkers" - online conspiracy movement.
"Bottles were thrown and there were attempts to break through barriers," police said on Twitter.
Police said protesters disobeyed instructions they gave to help ensure people's safety, including by refusing to wear face masks and observe social distancing guidelines.
Protesters carried placards reading "No compulsory vaccination" and "Democracy will not tolerate censorship".
Marchers faced counter-protesters wearing face masks, one of whom held up a placard reading "Vaccinated".
With Germany in its fourth month of lockdown and vaccination efforts lagging compared to Britain and the United States, many people, from shopkeepers to would-be holidaymakers, are increasingly uneasy about the lack of a clear path to a return to normal life.
National and regional leaders are due to consult on Monday over the next steps in the national lockdown. But with case numbers rising sharply thanks to the spread of more infectious variants, many politicians are saying it is too early to ease restrictions.
Protesters square off with police in the city of Kassel in Germany. Photo: AFP
Protesters ignore warnings in London
Scuffles broke out as anti-lockdown protesters marched through central London on Saturday, defying police warnings for them to stay away due to coronavirus restrictions.
Police said they had made 33 arrests, most for Covid-19 regulation breaches, after up to 10,000 people gathered holding banners with slogans such as "Stop Destroying Our Kids' Lives" and "Fake Pandemic". Crowded close to one another, protesters also set off flares.
Protesters set off flares on their way to a rally in Hyde Park in London. Photo: AFP
Under England's coronavirus rules it is unlawful for groups to gather for the purpose of protest, but opposition to such measures has grown this week, not specifically related to anti-lockdown demonstrations.
Police were criticised for using heavy-handed tactics to break up an outdoor vigil for 33-year-old Sarah Everard on 13 March. A police officer has been charged with her kidnap and murder.
More than 60 British lawmakers wrote to interior minister Priti Patel on Friday calling for protests to be allowed during lockdown and saying that attending a demonstration should not be a criminal offence.
"We call on you to expressly exempt protests from restrictions on gatherings," lawmakers, including Conservative Member of Parliament Steve Baker and Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey said in the letter, which was organised by campaign groups Liberty and Big Brother Watch.
Photo: AFP
There were three consecutive nights of protest in London earlier this week, fuelled by the police reaction to the vigil for Everard, and anger over government plans to tighten the law on demonstrations.
The Home Office said when asked about the letter that the Covid-19 stay-at-home order remains in place until 29 March, and once it ends protests can resume subject to agreeing to respect social distancing.
"While we are still in a pandemic we continue to urge people to avoid mass gatherings, in line with wider coronavirus restrictions," a spokeswoman said.
Police said people breaching Covid-19 regulations could face fines or arrest.
Vaccination milestone
Meanwhile, the UK has hit a Covid-19 vaccination milestone with more than half of all adults having had at least one injection, health secretary Matt Hancock said on Saturday, making it the world's first major economy to achieve that level of inoculation.
Britain's vaccine rollout, which has raced ahead of those in the EU and the US, means the country is on track to ease lockdown measures and re-open the economy in line with its plan, Hancock said.
"The vaccination programme is our route out of the pandemic," Hancock told Sky News on Saturday. Official data showed 26.9 million had received a first dose of vaccine, up from 26.3 million the previous day.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who had AstraZeneca's vaccine on Friday, tweeted "Let's keep going" after the announcement that half of all adults had had a first shot.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson receives the AstraZeneca vaccine at St Thomas' Hospital in London. Photo: No 10 Downing Street / Andrew Parsons
Yet worries were also growing about a new wave of infections in continental Europe as cases rise in countries including Germany and France. A scientist who advises the government warned on Saturday that holidays abroad were "extremely unlikely" for most Britons this summer due to the risk of importing new variants of Covid-19.
Asked if infection rates elsewhere in Europe concerned him, Hancock said Britain had to stay vigilant but saw no threat to plans to gradually re-open shops, pubs and restaurants from 12 April. "There is no sign that we won't be able to make progress as set out in the roadmap," Hancock said.
Britain's vaccination rollout, using the AstraZeneca and Pfizer jabs, is one of the fastest in the world. Israel tops the world in terms of the proportion of its population it has vaccinated, followed by the United Arab Emirates, Chile, then the UK.
By comparison, 23 percent of the US population has received at least one dose of a vaccine, and less than a 10th of the EU population has been vaccinated.
- Reuters