Rioting youths in Dutch village set fire to coronavirus testing centre
24 January 2021, 12:04
Protesters also threw fireworks at police.
Rioting youths protesting on the first night of a curfew in the Netherlands torched a coronavirus testing facility and threw fireworks at police in a Dutch fishing village.
Police said they fined more than 3,600 people nationwide for breaching the curfew that ran from 9pm on Saturday until 4.30am on Sunday, and arrested 25 people for breaching the curfew or for violence.
Video from the village of Urk, 50 miles north-east of Amsterdam, showed youths breaking into the coronavirus testing facility near the harbour before it was set ablaze.
The police and municipality issued a statement expressing their anger at the rioting.
“This is not only unacceptable, but also a slap in the face, especially for the local health authority staff who do all they can at the test centre to help people from Urk,” the local authorities said.
Police in Amsterdam also were bracing for another protest on Sunday, sending officers to a square where demonstrators clashed with police a week ago.
