SAWT BEIRUT INTERNATIONAL

| 29 March 2024, Friday |

Italian Police use water cannon to push back anti-vax protesters in Rome

Hundreds of protesters protesting against coronavirus vaccination were pushed back by Italian police on Saturday, who used water cannon to keep them away from the prime minister’s office.

According to local media, around 10,000 people took to the streets in the heart of the Italian capital to protest the Green Pass, a digital or paper certificate indicating that someone has received at least one dose of the vaccine, has tested negative for COVID-19, or has recently recovered from the virus.

They stated a few hundred demonstrators marched towards the prime minister’s office.

According to Italian media, police in riot gear lined up to corral the protesters, who are backed by radical far-right organizations.

The demonstrations came just days before the Green Pass law takes effect, making it required for all workers, in Prime Minister Mario Draghi’s broad coalition’s latest campaign to convince residents to be immunized.

After Britain, Italy has the second-highest COVID-19 death toll in Europe, with more than 130,000 people dying since the epidemic began in early 2020.

Workers who fail to submit a proper health certificate will be suspended without pay under the new law, but they will not be fired.

Some 80% of all Italians over the age of 12 are now fully vaccinated and the vast majority of people seem to back the inoculation drive and the use of the Green Pass.

    Source:
  • Reuters