A COVID-19 test facility was set on fire in the Netherlands during riots on the first night of a new strict fire – police later used water cannons against protesters, while the violence stole on Sunday.
The local media video from Urk, a fishing village about 50 miles northeast of Amsterdam, showed a crowd entering the portable test facility on Saturday night and lighting it.
By Sunday morning, only a burnt shell remained, with police saying it came one night when rebels were throwing stones and fireworks in an attempt to destroy police cars.
Violence came as a stalemate – the first nation in World War II – forbade people to go out from 9 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.
By early Sunday, at least 25 people had been arrested and more than 3,600 people had been fined for violating their heels, police said.
The number was expected to increase on Sunday, as numerous riots broke out in several cities across the country.
In the Dutch capital Amsterdam, police used a water cannon on Sunday to disperse protesters in a major square surrounded by museums, including one for Dutch Impressionist master Van Gogh.
It was the same market where 143 people were arrested during similar protests a week ago, with Mayor Femke Halsema designating it a “high-risk area” to give police the power to throw people to arms.
Eindhoven police also used a water cannon and tear gas against a crowd of hundreds of protesters, including supporters of the anti-immigrant group PEGIDA.
Eindhoven police said they made at least 30 arrests by late afternoon and warned people to stay away from the city center amid clashes. There were no immediate reports of injuries.
Non-essential schools and shops in the Netherlands have already been closed since mid-December, after bars and restaurants closed two months earlier.
Parliament voted last week to impose the timing, amid fears that the highly contagious mutation in Britain would cause an increase in cases, even as new infections have generally declined.
Violators can be fined $ 115, and the only exceptions to the time-lapse include medical emergencies, people doing essential jobs, and people walking their dogs. It will last until at least February 9th.
On Sunday, the Netherlands reported just over 960,000 infections with 13,646 deaths, far fewer than the hardest-hit European nations such as the United Kingdom, France, Spain, Italy and Germany, according to Johns Hopkins University.
With Post Wires