Tens of thousands of citizens united to protest strict Covid-19 mandates in the country of Georgia, located in Eastern Europe, on Monday. The massive protest was in response to the government mandating vaccine passports or “green status cards” beginning on December 1.
According to the government’s press service, “A so-called green status is granted to those fully vaccinated and have passed 72-hour-validity PCR or 24-hour-validity antigen tests, or have recovered from coronavirus, will be eligible for Green Passports. Green Passports will be required of citizens aged over 18.”
Georgia’s newest Covid-19 mandate is one of the strictest laws to be passed in Eastern Europe, as the world continues to battle emerging variants of Covid-19. The government’s press release states, “‘Green Passport only’ admission will apply from December 1 to the following: eateries, restaurants, cafes, and bars (both outdoor and indoor), cinemas, theaters, opera houses, museums, concert halls, entertainment centers, casinos and gambling sites, spa centers, fitness clubs, hotels, and aerial lifts in winter resorts.”
While Georgia’s government claims this mandate will motivate citizens to become fully vaccinated against Covid-19, tens of thousands of citizens showed Sunday that they will not quickly abandon their personal freedoms. This highlights the worldwide divide between government mandates and personal freedom. Citizens from all across the world are pushing back against the tyrannical overreach of their governments. This protest in the nation of Georgia highlights the most recent battle between government mandates and an individual’s medical freedom.
Georgia is not the first European country to enforce strict mandates in an effort to combat the Covid-19 pandemic, nor is it the first European nation to experience massive protests against Covid-19 mandates. In Central Europe, the Czech Republic’s government initiated a 30-day state of emergency on Friday, which banned Christmas markets, placed a curfew on bars and restaurants, and limited the number of people who can assemble together for sports or other events to 1,000. According to The Hill, thousands of demonstrators gathered in a major protest in the Czech capital of Prague on Sunday to voice their opposition against their government’s Covid-19 mandates.
Citizens in Italy, Australia, France, Switzerland, Netherlands, and many more countries around the world have also risen against the “Green Pass,” or vaccine passport, in recent months.
While European countries continue to enforce strict Covid-19 mandates and require their citizens to get vaccinated, many Americans fear that the same thing will happen in the United States.
Although the Biden administration’s vaccine mandate on businesses of over 100 employees has currently been struck down by federal judges, his administration has continued to put pressure on Americans to get vaccinated. The administration has repeatedly attempted to force Americans to receive the Covid-19 vaccine regardless of their personal beliefs and freedoms.
Time will tell whether Americans will stand up to the Biden administration in the same way citizens of European countries are fighting for their freedoms or whether Americans will ultimately lose their cherished freedom of choice.
