THE HAGUE, Sept 25 (Reuters) – Hundreds of protesters marched against the introduction of a “corona pass” in the Netherlands on Saturday, as proof of COVID-19 vaccination became compulsory to get into bars, restaurants, theatres and other venues.
Hours after the requirement to show the pass or a recent negative coronavirus test took effect, the government of caretaker Prime Minister Mark Rutte sacked a cabinet minister who had publicly questioned the measure.
Rutte’s office said Deputy Economic Affairs Minister Mona Keijzer had been dismissed because her comments went against cabinet policy on an issue “of such importance and weight”.
The launch of the vaccination pass coincided with the lifting of almost all social distancing measures in the country, where 72% of the population has received at least one vaccine dose.
While face masks will still be mandatory on public transport, students and teachers will no longer have to wear masks in schools, and a rule for 1.5-metre (nearly 5 feet) distancing in public places was also scrapped.
Carrying banners and placards as techno music played over mobile loudspeakers, several hundred protesters opposed to the pass weaved their way through the streets of the Dutch government capital, The Hague.
Some of the placards compared the COVID-19 restrictions to measures imposed by repressive governments. “Medical Apartheid. Stop vaccine passports,” one sign read.
Most Dutch people support the so-called corona pass, which also faced opposition when introduced in other European countries such as Italy and France, and most of the criticism has come from the hospitality sector.
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