At least eleven detained during protests against restrictions and vaccines in London

The London Metropolitan Police Service reported on Monday that 11 people were arrested in the middle of a protest against COVID-19 measures and vaccines.

Protesters held up banners with slogans such as “Shame on the police” Yes “Stop a Boris Johnson”, just as they sang “Freedom” as they gathered on the outskirts of the UK Parliament and crippled traffic in central London.

Images posted on social media show protesters clashing with officers in the middle of Parliament Street near Westminster Underground Station, where hundreds of protesters have gathered.

A 61-year-old businessman from Oxford, Dan Andersson, who took part in the protest, said he was there “to file a complaint against the erosion of civil liberties”. “I have two teenage children: I see this as a fight for them and for their future”, he told the news agency PENNSYLVANIA.

The protests took place on the same day as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Boris Johnson, has urged Britons to act “with caution” now that the government has removed most restrictions imposed due to the coronavirus in England.

During the day, the UK Department of Health reported 39,950 new COVID-19 infections and 19 deaths, bringing the totals to 5,473,477 and 128,727, respectively.

The British Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, on Monday urged all adults in the country who have not yet been immunized against covid-19 to be vaccinated while calling for “caution”, coinciding with the removal of the last legal restrictions to contain the pandemic.

In a statement put forward the day before by the British government, the executive recalls that the passage of England to phase 4 of its de-escalation plan implies that “Most of the restrictions have ended, replaced with guidelines that emphasize judgment and personal responsibility.”

The note also notes that, those over 18 can now make an appointment to be vaccinated and that nearly 60% of the population under 25 has received at least the first injection.

“Young adults can be key transmitters and are encouraged to receive both doses”, said the statement, which added that the cases will continue to increase although the vaccination program “has considerably weakened the link between infection and hospitalization and death”.

The government recalls that, according to data from the public health agency Public Health England, a dose of the Pfizer or Astrazaena vaccine offers an 80% effectiveness against hospitalizations in the case of the delta variant, and that this effectiveness increases to 96% after complete elimination guideline.

(With information from Europa Press)

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