Mapping coronavirus anti-lockdown protests around the world

 https://www.aljazeera.com

 

Since the start of 2021, a growing number of countries have seen street demonstrations, some of which have turned violent, against government measures implemented to fight COVID-19.

Over the same period, nearly 100 countries have imposed nationwide lockdowns or stay-at-home orders, nearly one year since the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a global pandemic.

 

Europe

Protests have erupted across several European countries, including Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Georgia, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, the Netherlands, Spain and the United Kingdom.

In the Netherlands, protests turned violent, resulting in more than 240 arrests after the government introduced an overnight curfew. In the coastal town of Urk, violent protesters torched a COVID-19 testing centre and threw fireworks at police. Al Jazeera’s Step Vaessen, reporting from Amsterdam, said the rioters were mostly dissatisfied young men. She added the unrest was being driven, in part, by “conspiracy thinkers” linked to the far-right QAnon movement.

People protest against coronavirus restrictions in Eindhoven, the Netherlands, on January 24, 2021. The Netherlands has been in lockdown since December and is expected to continue until February 9 [File: Rob Engelaar/EPA-EFE]

Middle East

In Tripoli, Lebanon’s second-largest city, hundreds of angry protesters took to the streets to denounce the absence of any economic aid despite a nationwide coronavirus lockdown and strict stay-at-home orders. Witnesses and local media reported that police had fired live rounds as protesters tried to storm the city’s government building. One person was killed and 200 others wounded during several nights of clashes.

In neighbouring Israel, ultraorthodox demonstrators clashed with police as authorities faced new difficulties in enforcing coronavirus restrictions in the country’s religious communities.

Lebanese protesters burn a vehicle in the northern port city of Tripoli on January 27, 2021 [File: Fathi al-Masri/AFP]

Rest of the world

Protests have also been held in Toronto, Canada, and Wellington, New Zealand.

Lockdown durations

According to data compiled by the Oxford Coronavirus Government Response Tracker, nearly 100 countries and territories worldwide have reintroduced stay-at-home orders that require residents to not leave home, with some exceptions such as for essential trips, daily exercise or grocery shopping.

The table below summarises the extent of these nationwide lockdowns over 12 months (January 16, 2020 – January 15, 2021).

300 – 366 days

🇧🇴 Bolivia (320 days), 🇵🇪 Peru (307 days), 🇭🇳 Honduras (306 days), 🇵🇾 Paraguay (305 days), 🇦🇷 Argentina (303 days), 🇧🇸 Bahamas (302 days), 🇯🇲 Jamaica (302 days), 🇻🇪 Venezuela (302 days), 🇸🇻 El Salvador (301 days), 🇮🇳 India (300 days).

250 – 299 days

🇩🇿 Algeria (299 days), 🇨🇱 Chile (297 days), 🇨🇬 Congo (294 days), 🇳🇬 Nigeria (293 days), 🇬🇳 Guinea (292 days), 🇹🇴 Tonga (291 days), 🇨🇳 China (289 days), 🇽🇰 Kosovo (287 days), 🇲🇽 Mexico (285 days), 🇵🇸 Palestine (278 days), 🇲🇲 Myanmar (277 days), 🇵🇷 Puerto Rico (276 days), 🇹🇩 Chad (276 days), 🇸🇷 Suriname (273 days), 🇬🇾 Guyana (272 days), 🇧🇩 Bangladesh (271 days), 🇷🇼 Rwanda (270 days), 🇺🇬 Uganda (263 days), 🇲🇦 Morocco (260 days), 🇫🇯 Fiji (257 days), 🇧🇷 Brazil (256 days), 🇱🇾 Libya (252 days), 🇵🇦 Panama (252 days), 🇩🇴 Dominican Republic (251 days).

200 – 249 days

🇵🇭 Philippines (247 days), 🇰🇪 Kenya (246 days), 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe (245 days), 🇪🇷 Eritrea (236 days), 🇮🇱 Israel (233 days), 🇵🇰 Pakistan (229 days), 🇿🇦 South Africa (220 days), 🇰🇿 Kazakhstan (213 days), 🇭🇹 Haiti (211 days), 🇺🇸 United States (201 days).

150 – 199 days

🇳🇵 Nepal (199 days), 🇧🇪 Belgium (195 days), 🇪🇨 Ecuador (195 days), 🇮🇶 Iraq (195 days), 🇻🇳 Vietnam (194 days), 🇱🇧 Lebanon (192 days), 🇬🇹 Guatemala (193 days), 🇰🇬 Kyrgyz Republic (192 days), 🇵🇹 Portugal (192 days), 🇦🇺 Australia (185 days), 🇮🇩 Indonesia (185 days), 🇪🇸 Spain (183 days), 🇦🇿 Azerbaijan (181 days), 🇹🇷 Turkey (180 days), 🇯🇴 Jordan (177 days), 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka (177 days), 🇴🇲 Oman (173 days), 🇮🇪 Ireland (171 days), 🇨🇴 Colombia (169 days), 🇷🇺 Russia (169 days), 🇱🇷 Liberia (163 days), 🇮🇹 Italy (156 days), 🇹🇳 Tunisia (156 days), 🇸🇿 Eswatini (155 days), 🇦🇫 Afghanistan (154 days).

100 – 149 days

🇫🇷 France (146 days), 🇬🇪 Georgia (146 days), 🇦🇱 Albania (145 days), 🇺🇿 Uzbekistan (141 days), 🇬🇷 Greece (138 days), 🇦🇹 Austria (137 days), 🇧🇹 Bhutan (132 days), 🇨🇾 Cyprus (131 days), 🇦🇴 Angola (129 days), 🇦🇼 Aruba (128 days), 🇧🇦 Bosnia and Herzegovina (128 days), 🇰🇼 Kuwait (128 days), 🇲🇨 Monaco (126 days), 🇭🇺 Hungary (124 days), 🇲🇷 Mauritania (124 days), 🇲🇬 Madagascar (122 days), 🇸🇸 South Sudan (122 days), 🇷🇴 Romania (120 days), 🇨🇻 Cape Verde (117 days), 🇨🇺 Cuba (116 days), 🇾🇪 Yemen (109 days), 🇬🇦 Gabon (108 days), 🇨🇩 Democratic Republic of Congo (107 days), 🇸🇳 Senegal (107 days), 🇧🇧 Barbados (105 days), 🇧🇲 Bermuda (102 days).

50 – 99 days

🇳🇦 Namibia (96 days), 🇬🇧 United Kingdom (94 days), 🇲🇾 Malaysia (94 days), 🇸🇩 Sudan (92 days), 🇸🇰 Slovakia (92 days), 🇪🇬 Egypt (91 days), 🇹🇬 Togo (91 days), 🇧🇼 Botswana (90 days), 🇧🇭 Bahrain (88 days), 🇩🇪 Germany (88 days), 🇨🇿 Czech Republic (79 days), 🇱🇺 Luxembourg (79 days), 🇧🇫 Burkina Faso (72 days), 🇸🇬 Singapore (72 days), 🇳🇿 New Zealand (71 days), 🇹🇹 Trinidad and Tobago (70 days), 🇲🇹 Malta (69 days), 🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia (69 days), 🇲🇳 Mongolia (68 days), 🇲🇺 Mauritius (68 days), 🇬🇲 Gambia (67 days), 🇧🇿 Belize (65 days), 🇸🇾 Syria (62 days), 🇻🇮 United States Virgin Islands (62 days), 🇹🇱 East Timor (60 days), 🇱🇸 Lesotho (59 days), 🇩🇲 Dominica (56 days), 🇩🇯 Djibouti (55 days), 🇲🇩 Moldova (53 days), 🇷🇸 Serbia (53 days), 🇸🇲 San Marino (52 days), 🇪🇪 Estonia (50 days).

1 – 49 days

🇭🇷 Croatia (49 days), 🇳🇱 Netherlands (49 days), 🇬🇺 Guam (41 days), 🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates (40 days), 🇵🇬 Papua New Guinea (40 days), 🇧🇬 Bulgaria (37 days), 🇸🇨 Seychelles (36 days), 🇱🇦 Laos (35 days), 🇨🇫 Central African Republic (34 days), 🇱🇹 Lithuania (31 days), 🇰🇷 South Korea (28 days), 🇸🇴 Somalia (28 days), 🇸🇱 Sierra Leone (24 days), 🇿🇲 Zambia (23 days), 🇰🇭 Cambodia (21 days), 🇬🇭 Ghana (20 days), 🇰🇮 Kiribati (16 days), 🇮🇷 Iran (13 days), 🇺🇾 Uruguay (11 days), 🇵🇱 Poland (9 days), 🇨🇦 Canada (7 days), 🇸🇧 Solomon Islands (3 days), 🇹🇯 Tajikistan (3 days), 🇲🇿 Mozambique (1 day).

No nationwide lockdown enforced, only recommended or isolated lockdowns

🇦🇩 Andorra,🇨🇭 Switzerland, 🇨🇮 Cote d’Ivoire, 🇨🇷 Costa Rica, 🇩🇰 Denmark, 🇪🇹 Ethiopia, 🇫🇮 Finland, 🇬🇱 Greenland, 🇭🇰 Hong Kong, 🇯🇵 Japan, 🇱🇻 Latvia, 🇲🇱 Mali, 🇲🇼 Malawi, 🇳🇪 Niger, 🇳🇴 Norway, 🇶🇦 Qatar, 🇸🇮 Slovenia, 🇸🇪 Sweden, 🇹🇭 Thailand, 🇹🇲 Turkmenistan, 🇺🇦 Ukraine, 🇻🇺 Vanuatu

No nationwide restrictions or recommendations to stay at home

🇧🇮 Burundi, 🇧🇯 Benin, 🇧🇾 Belarus, 🇧🇳 Brunei, 🇨🇲 Cameroon, 🇫🇴 Faroe Islands, 🇮🇸 Iceland, 🇲🇴 Macao, 🇳🇮 Nicaragua, 🇹🇼 Taiwan, 🇹🇿 Tanzania,

Countries/territories not included above may not have sufficient data.