Rallies against anti-virus measures are now sweeping Europe-thousands of COVID dissidents have taken to the streets of Austria, Belgium and Greece. Large-scale protests have taken place in Greece, with dozens of demonstrators injured in clashes with police.
This is not the first week of riots in the country as anti-vaccine activists are unhappy with the restrictions. It is now impossible to enter a restaurant, cinema, gym or public transport without a compulsory vaccination passport or a negative PCR test. The protesters considered this to be discrimination.
The anti-vaccination protests became tense after some activists started shouting slogans against police officers and journalists. Their advance towards the congress centre at the fair was blocked by a SWAT team.
More than 6,000 police officers have been deployed on the streets of Thessaloniki and are using all available means, including drones, to maintain security and order, according to Greek police. The riot police also have water cannon vehicles which can be used in case of disturbances.