GREECE: TEAR GAS FIRED DURING PROTEST OF VACCINE MANDATE

Sun 25 July 2021:

The Greek police said it had deployed water cannons and tear gas to disperse people protesting against mandatory COVID-19 vaccination in Athens.

Some 4,500 protesters gathered in Athens central Omonoia Square on Saturday and then marched toward Syntagma Square, disrupting traffic, the police said in a statement. About 1,500 demonstrators remained in Syntagma Square and an adjacent street for 40 minutes, “ignoring warnings and calls from the police chief to leave the road to ensure unimpeded traffic.”

“Suddenly, some of those gathered began to throw pieces of marble, stones, flares and Molotov cocktails at police officers .

.. The police forces began to disperse the crowd with water cannons and limited use of tear gas,” the statement issued on Saturday read.

A total of 25 people were detained in the incident, the police added.

Recent polls showed the majority of Greeks would get the shot against the COVID-19 which has claimed 12,890 lives in Greece since the pandemic broke out last year. About 45% of a population of 11 million are fully vaccinated.

Greece has ordered the vaccination of healthcare and nursing home staff as cases have risen and urged school teachers to get the shot in time for the start of the school year in September.

The Greek government is worried that slowing vaccination rates will hurt the country’s economic recovery after a steep recession last year caused by lockdowns and the pandemic’s impact on the tourism industry.

Roughly 45% of the country’s population has received two vaccine doses, according to daily public health data.

Earlier in July, the Greek parliament passed a bill that makes COVID-19 vaccination mandatory for employees in some specific sectors such as healthcare, sparking a public outcry.

PHOTO: Greek police use tear gas to disperse anti-vaccine protesters during a rally at Syntagma square, central Athens, on Wednesday, July 21, 2021. Thousands of people protested against Greek government’s measures to curb rising COVID-19 infections and drive up vaccinations in the country where almost 50% of Greeks and country residents have received at least one dose of the vaccine. (AP Photo/Yorgos Karahalis)

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