Romanians protesting against COVID attempt to attack parliament | Coronavirus pandemic News

Mostly masked far-right protesters gather outside parliament, waving national flags, blocking traffic and shouting “freedom”.

Romanian protesters have tried to enter parliament, blocking traffic and vandalizing some cars in the capital, Bucharest, to prevent parliamentarians from making a compulsory COVID-19 health card for workers.

The rebellion was caught by the police when they entered Tuesday hundreds of protesters from a patio door, painting cars and forcing safety staff to block the building tickets. The demonstrators then fled. The police did not use force.

While the centrist and left-wing governing coalition are negotiating the terms of the health authority, there is currently no bill on the parliamentary agenda.

Most of the country’s 2,000-2,500 protesters rallied in disguise outside the parliament this morning, waving Romanian flags and shouting “Freedom” at a protest organized by the opposition ultranationalist Alliance for the Unification of Romanians (AUR).

Chaos ensued briefly as dozens of parliamentarians had to enter the courtyard of the building and some tried to enter the building but were stopped by riot police.

Romania, a nation of about 19 million in the European Union, faced the deadliest rise in coronavirus infections and deaths in October and November when intensive care units across the country were flooded with COVID-19 patients and hospital bodies were left without a place.

In response to the ongoing catastrophe, authorities tightened restrictions in late October, and daily coronavirus cases have dropped from August to the lowest.

Authorities are now investigating ways to try to avoid it Another tragic rise in the virus is now a real concern after Romania has confirmed more than a dozen cases of the Omicron coronavirus variant.

Also in October, Romanian senators largely ruled out carrying a COVID-19 health card aimed at promoting vaccination by medical staff, public sector workers and large privately owned companies.

The coalition government is negotiating a new bill that would require most workers to show that they have been vaccinated, have been cured of the virus or have been negative lately, but have not yet agreed on who pays for the tests and for how long.

Romania is the least vaccinated state in the EU, and about 40% of the population is inoculated with distrust of state institutions and poor vaccine education. At the peak of the fourth wave at the end of October, Romania was on the global list of new coronavirus deaths per million.

The Romanian Ministry of Health said on Monday that the adoption of the COVID-19 digital certification law must “take into account the public health interest” but also respond to the “proper functioning of the economy”.

Hundreds of thousands of Romanians living abroad are expected to return home during the holiday season, prompting authorities on Monday to implement passenger location forms to improve the traceability of infections. In 24 hours, more than 100,000 forms have been completed.

Beatrice Mahler, a hospital manager at the Marius Nasta Pneumology Institute in Bucharest who was on the front lines of the pandemic, told the Associated Press on Tuesday that her hospital was busy disinfecting the wards, repairing medical equipment and reviewing medical supplies.

“This moment is sensitive and critical,” Mahler said. “I hope that the experience of the waves of the past will make us responsible … and that it is necessary to understand the tests if we want to protect our loved ones.”