Three people treated in hospital with serious injuries after clashes in Dutch city over reintroduction of Covid restrictions

Three people were being treated in a hospital in the Dutch city of Rotterdam after they were seriously injured when police fired shots during a violent protests against COVID-19 measures.

Broken windows and charred debris – these were just some of the scenes from the aftermath of violent protests which rocked the Dutch city of Rotterdam over the weekend.

Three people were being treated for serious injuries in a hospital after protests against COVID-19 measures saw rioters torching cars, setting off fireworks and throwing rocks at police.

Authorities responded with water cannons and warning shots

More than 50 people were arrested, half of whom were under the age of 18, according to the Rotterdam police department’s Twitter on Saturday.

Protesters opposed a new law that limits access to indoor public venues to those with a “corona pass” – proving they’ve either been vaccinated or have recovered from an infection.

On Saturday, hundreds of protesters gathered in the capital Amsterdam at the Museumplein, a tourism hotspot, where they were closely watched by the police.

Earlier in the day, several thousand had showed up for a largely peaceful march around the city’s central Dam square.

The Netherlands re-imposed some lockdown measures last weekend for an initial three weeks, in an effort to slow a resurgence of COVID-19 cases, but daily infections have remained at their highest levels since the start of the pandemic.