Switzerland: Police block streets as hundreds protest COVID measures in Bern

Subscribe to our channel! Large numbers of police blocked off streets in Bern on Thursday, as hundreds of protesters rallied against COVID-19 measures. Officers could be seen detaining a man outside the home of the Swiss government, the Federal Palace of Switzerland. Protesters banged drums and chanted as they walked through the streets during the unauthorised demo, at one point marching through the city’s main train station. On September 23, a similar protest against COVID-19 rules was met with water cannons and rubber bullets, after demonstrators set off fireworks and threw things at police. The Swiss government made possession of proof of vaccination, recovery, or recent COVID-19 test, mandatory to access indoor areas of restaurants, bars, and many other venues, on September 13. Switzerland’s Federal Council justified the requirement in a statement on September 8, saying that it was intended to “prevent hospitals from being overstretched.“