A COVID-19 test facility was burnt down during the riots on the first night of a strict new evening clock in the Netherlands – with police later using water cannons against protesters when the violence raged on Sunday.
Local media video of Urk, a fishing village about 50 km northeast of Amsterdam, showed a crowd breaking into the portable testing facility on Saturday night and setting it on fire.
By Sunday morning, only a burnt-out shell remained, and police said it was coming on a night where rioters were throwing stones and fireworks in an attempt to destroy cop cars.
The violence was a severe nightmare – the first country since World War II – banning people from going out from 9pm to 4.30pm.
By early Sunday, at least 25 people had been arrested and more than 3,600 people imposed for breaking the curfew, police said.
The number is expected to rise on Sunday as numerous riots have broken out in several cities across the country.
In the Dutch capital Amsterdam on Sunday, police used a water cannon to disperse protesters in a large square surrounded by museums, including one for Dutch Impressionist master Van Gogh.
It was on the same square where 143 people were arrested during similar protests a week ago, with Mayor Femke Halsema designating it as a “high-risk zone” to give police the power to care for people after guns.
Police in Eindhoven also used a water cannon and tear gas on a crowd of hundreds of protesters, including supporters of the anti-immigrant group PEGIDA.
Police in Eindhoven said they made at least 30 arrests in the late afternoon and warned people to stay away from the city center amid the clashes. There were no immediate reports of injuries.
Schools and non-essential shops in the Netherlands have been closed since mid-December following the closure of pubs and restaurants two months earlier.
Parliament voted last week to impose the curfew amid fears that the highly contagious mutation in the UK would cause an increase in cases, although new infections have generally declined.
Violators can be fined $ 115, and the only exceptions to the curfew are medical emergencies, people doing essential work and people walking their dogs. It must last until at least February 9th.
As of Sunday, the Netherlands reported just over 960,000 infections with 13,646 deaths, far fewer than the worst-hit European countries such as the United Kingdom, France, Spain, Italy and Germany, Johns Hopkins University data showed.
With Post Wires