RIGA, Aug 20 (NNN-AGENCIES) — More than 5,000 people gathered in the Latvian capital Riga to demonstrate against coronavirus restrictions and government plans to make vaccines obligatory for many workers.
“For freedom!” people chanted at the largest demonstration in the Baltic country since 2009, also calling on Prime Minister Krisjanis Karins to resign and parliament to reject stricter measures.
Most of the protesters went unmasked on the march, which passed by the president’s and prime minister’s residences. Current restrictions do not require face coverings at outdoor events.
On Wednesday, 180 new coronavirus infections were reported in the country of 1.9 million people, bringing Latvia’s total number of cases to 140,505 since the pandemic began.
The death toll has reached 2,566.
So far, more than 43 percent of Latvians have received at least one vaccine dose and 38 percent are fully vaccinated, the BNS news agency reported. — NNN-AGENCIES
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