Protest against coronavirus measures in Brussels
(Picture: REUTERS)Seventy people were arrested and over a dozen injured in clashes between police and protesters as tens of thousands marched through Brussels against Covid rules.
Police fired water cannons and tear gas to push back demonstrators hurling paving stones and firecrackers as an estimated 50,000 people paraded through the Belgian capital.
Video showed black-clad protesters attacking a building used by the European Union’s diplomatic service.
Brussels police said on Monday 70 people were detained and three officers and 12 demonstrators required hospital treatment.
The protests on Sunday followed demonstrations in other European capitals against vaccine passports and other requirements that governments have imposed amid the Omicron surge.
Meanwhile a fresh outbreak in Beijing prompted authorities to test millions and impose new measures two weeks ahead of the opening of the Winter Olympics.
Two million residents of Fengtai district underwent testing following the discovery of more than three dozen cases.
Despite falling case numbers, pandemic controls have been stepped up ahead of the Games, where all participants must be tested before and after their arrival in Beijing.
Olympic workers in hazmat suits were pictured at a credential validation desk at the Beijing Capital International Airport.
Preliminary research in Sweden found nearly half of those who became ill with Covid in the first wave of infections may have long-term and even permanent changes to their sense of smell.
