Against COVID-19 Restrictions, 35,000 Protesters Engage In Clashes With Police In Belgium

Illustration of the evacuation of COVID-19 patients in Brussels, Belgium. (Wikimedia Commons/Miguel Discart)

JAKARTA - Police and protesters clashed in the streets of Brussels, Belgium on Sunday in a demonstration against the government-imposed COVID-19 restrictions.

Citing Reuters on November 22, witnesses said police fired water cannon and tear gas at the protesters, who then threw rocks and smoke bombs.

Meanwhile, the police said the demonstration, which was initially peaceful before the violence broke out, was attended by around 35,000 people.

Protesters wearing black hoodies threw stones at police as they advanced with water cannons at the main intersection in front of the headquarters of the European Union Commission.

Facing a police line, protesters held hands and chanted "freedom". One protester carried a placard reading "when tyranny becomes law, rebellion becomes duty".

In addition, protesters also threw smoke bombs and fireworks, Le Soir newspaper reported. However, the police said the situation calmed down later.

Belgium tightened coronavirus restrictions on Wednesday, mandating wider use of masks and imposing work from home, as cases rise in the country's fourth COVID-19 wave.

There have been 1,581,500 infections and 26,568 coronavirus-related deaths reported in the country of 11.7 million people since the pandemic began. Infections are rising again, with an average of 13,826 new cases reported each day.

Violence has also broken out in anti-restriction protests in Belgium's neighbor, the Netherlands, in recent days. On Friday, police in Rotterdam opened fire on the crowd.

For information, the World Health Organization (WHO) said it was very worried about the increase in cases of coronavirus in Europe.

WHO regional director Dr. Hans Kluge, said, unless measures were tightened across Europe, half a million more deaths could be recorded in the following spring.

"COVID-19 is once again the number one cause of death in our region," he told the BBC.

"We know what needs to be done to fight the virus, such as vaccinations, wearing masks, and COVID-19 permits," he continued.

Many governments across the continent are enacting new restrictions to try to contain the rise in infections. A number of countries have recently reported their highest daily number of cases.