Dutch police have dispersed thousands in protest of the blockade by Reuters

Amsterdam (Reuters) – with sticks and shields tried to break the crowds of various thousands of people gathered on the Dutch capital on Sunday in Sunday to protest Covid-19’s blockage measures and vaccines.

Amsterdam Mayor Femke Halsema issued an emergency ordinance empowering police to clean up the Museum’s central square after protesters violated a ban on holding public gatherings during the latest wave of coronavirus infections.

Demonstrators, most of whom did not wear masks and broke the rules of social distance, ignored the order not to march and marched through a main street, playing music and wearing yellow umbrellas as a sign of government measures.

The Netherlands introduced a sudden blockade on December 19, and the government ordered the closure of all essential shops, as well as restaurants, hairdressers, gyms, museums and other public places until at least 14 January.

Public gatherings of more than two people are prohibited under the current restrictions.

Like other European countries, the Netherlands put in place measures to prevent a new wave of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus that could overwhelm an already strained health system.