March 31, 2023

Coronavirus live news: Wuhan finishes testing 11m people; one Covid death every two minutes in Iran, reports say

China reports 125 new cases for Sunday; Iranian media reports say one person dying of...

China reports 125 new cases for Sunday; Iranian media reports say one person dying of Covid every two minutes as crisis worsens

  • Fears as more children falling ill in latest US Covid surge and school approaches
  • UK set to ‘hoard’ 210m Covid vaccine doses, research suggests
  • Macron tells critics: vaccine passport will protect all our freedoms
  • UK competition watchdog to look into pricing of Covid tests for travel
  • See all our coronavirus coverage

3.21pm BST

Police in London have clashed with protesters who appeared to seek to enter a BBC office in White City. The demonstrators are reportedly protesting against Covid health passes and jabs for children.

| NEW: Scuffles as anti-lockdown protestors attempt to storm a BBC television office in West London

Via @newsflarepic.twitter.com/axWM9z35HL

3.14pm BST

We reported earlier than an extension to France’s controversial “health pass” covering activities including going to restaurants and cafes, taking long-distance train journeys and visiting hospitals has come into effect after a fourth weekend of protests.

In our editorial in the paper today, the Guardian calls for attention to be paid to the French Covid pass protesters.

Conspiracy theorists and eccentric libertarians certainly populate the fringes of the anti-pass movement in France and elsewhere. But as the digital age extends its reach ever more deeply into our private lives, legitimate concerns over an intrusive surveillance society should be respected and addressed.

The anti-passers, while focused on the theme of individual liberty, draw from the same deep well of suspicion and mistrust in the motives of the powerful. In an interview last week, an exasperated Mr Macron said the attitude of the demonstrators was “a threat to democracy. They mix up everything. A few tens of thousands of people have lost their minds to such an extent that they are capable of saying we live in a dictatorship.”

Related: The Guardian view on French Covid pass protesters: attention must be paid | Editorial

Continue reading…

Source link