New Covid-19 vaccine mandates and lockdowns from governments across Europe and Australia has inspired hundreds of thousands around the world to protest governmental overreach.
Last weekend, tens of thousands of Austrians protested the country’s fourth national lockdown in Vienna on Saturday, chanting “Resistance!” while holding banners that read “Freedom!”
The Austrian government ordered a 10- to 20-day full lockdown across the entire country on Monday. All Austrians, regardless of their vaccination status, are being mandated to stay in their homes and leave for only essential purposes, including getting food and going to essential jobs. All residents are also required to get fully vaccinated, and receive booster shots, by February.
In Italy, more than 3,000 protestors demonstrated outside the Circus Maximus in Rome to protesting the country’s vaccine passport program. Italy’s “green-pass” system requires all citizens to have a health certificate (green-pass) to show proof that they are fully vaccinated against Covid-19.
Italians that do not obtain a green-pass will be fined and suspended from work. They will not be allowed to enter public places including restaurants, cinemas, theaters, sporting events, and gyms.
In the Netherlands, the government implemented a three-week partial lockdown to combat the surge in Covid-19 cases. Restaurants, bars, and essential businesses are mandated to close by 8:00 p.m., and non-essential businesses are mandated to close by 6:00 p.m., according to the order from last week. Residents are also forbidden from having social gatherings in their homes with more than four people.
Protesters are also opposed to the a ban on fireworks for New Year’s Eve, and the government’s upcoming adoption of vaccine passports required for citizens to attend indoor venues and events.
Dutch police opened fire on the anti-lockdown protestors in Rotterdam, Netherlands as thousands demonstrated on Friday, citing that the protestors were allegedly damaging property and throwing rocks at them.
Thousands of protestors demonstrated in Croatia, Denmark, and Northern Ireland over the weekend, protesting their governments’ vaccine mandates for all workers, who will otherwise be terminated from their jobs. More than 2,000 protestors demonstrated in Switzerland as well over their country’s vaccine passport requirements for entering public places and events.
In Australia, tens of thousands of people protested the country’s vaccine mandates in Perth last weekend. Australia has been one of the most restrictive countries with Covid-19 lockdowns and rules, even having police go door-to-door performing wellness checks to make sure citizens are in their homes. In South Australia, the government ordered citizens to download an app to enforce lockdowns, having the app contact residents at random, asking them to provide proof of their location within 15 minutes. If they failed to do so, or they were too slow, residents were arrested.
Thousands of Australians gathered at the steps of Parliament in Melbourne last weekend to protest a Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews’s bill that would expand his powers, allowing him to single-handedly declare “health emergencies” and order lockdowns for up to three months at a time, whenever he wished.
Australia projected in October that lockdowns would not end until at least 70 percent of the people were fully vaccinated. However, with more than 71 percent of Australians fully vaccinated, their government has not confirmed whether or not they would honor their original commitment.