Vaccine passes fuel more Europe rallies

HELSINKI－Thousands of people gathered in European capitals on Saturday to protest against vaccine passports and other requirements governments have imposed in hopes of ending the coronavirus pandemic, shortly after Britain classified a new form of Omicron as a "variant under investigation".

About 38,000 people protested across France on Saturday, the interior ministry said, two days before a vaccination health pass was to become mandatory to take part in much of public life.

From Monday those aged 16 and above wanting access to restaurants or bars, leisure activities or interregional public transport will have to show they have been vaccinated against COVID-19.

A negative COVID test will no longer be sufficient, except to access health services.

Opponents of the policy say the reinforced measures will impinge upon daily freedoms, and they have railed against what they dub a form of apartheid.

An estimated 5,200 demonstrated in Paris, the ministry said, at rallies largely attended by supporters of the nationalist, anti-EU presidential candidate Florian Philippot.

Some demonstrators brought their children along and many of those marching did not wear masks as they waved French flags and bore banners demanding freedom.

In Sweden, where vaccine certificates are required to attend indoor events with more than 50 people, about 3,000 demonstrators marched through central Stockholm and assembled in a main square for a protest organized by the Frihetsrorelsen, or Freedom Movement.

Swedish media reported that representatives of the neo-Nazi Nordic Resistance Movement attended the action with a banner. Police monitored the group, which has been associated with violent behavior at demonstrations.

Just before Christmas, the Finnish government authorized local and regional authorities to introduce "extensive and full measures "in response to rising virus cases involving the Omicron variant.

The restrictions included limiting or prohibiting events, and moving university classes online.

About 4,000 demonstrators marched through the streets of central Helsinki on Saturday, police said.

Omicron lineage

A new form of Omicron named BA.2 has been designated a "variant under investigation", with 426 cases of the Omicron variant sublineage confirmed in the United Kingdom, the UK Health Security Agency said on Friday.

BA.2, which does not have the specific mutation seen with Omicron that can help to easily distinguish it from Delta, is being investigated but has not been designated a variant of concern. "It is the nature of viruses to evolve and mutate, so it's to be expected that we will continue to see new variants emerge," said Meera Chand, incident director at the agency.

Forty countries have reported BA.2 sequences, the agency said, with the most samples reported in Denmark, followed by India, Britain, Sweden and Singapore.

Agencies - Xinhua