The latest:
- In ICUs, the unvaccinated are silent, but as a doctor, I hope they can still hear my words.
More than 2,000 Turks demonstrated in Istanbul on Saturday against official coronavirus-related mandates, including vaccinations, tests and masks, responding to new government measures and an inoculation push.
In Turkey’s largest such protest, mostly maskless people shouted slogans, held placards and Turkish flags, and sang songs in defence of what they called individual rights, echoing anti-vaccine rallies in some other countries.
“This pandemic is just going on with even more restrictions on our freedoms, and there’s no end to it,” said Erdem Boz, 40, a software developer. “Masks, vaccines, PCR tests might all become mandatory. We’re here to voice our discontent with this.”
On Monday the government began requiring proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test for all users of intercity planes, buses and trains, as well as for those attending large events such as concerts or theatre performances.
All unvaccinated school employees are required to take a PCR test twice a week. Masks and physical distancing are required in public.
Some 64 per cent of Turks have received two vaccine shots under a national program that has administered more than 100 million jabs.
Still, about 23,000 new cases emerge daily, prompting the health minister, Fahrettin Koca, to warn this month of “a pandemic of the unvaccinated.”
On Saturday, Koca said on Twitter: “Vaccines are the final solution! Rules are very necessary.”
Protesters attending the government-approved rally in Istanbul’s Maltepe district were not required to show proof of vaccination or a negative test, according to Reuters witnesses. Police did not intervene.
![](https://thumbnails.cbc.ca/maven_legacy/thumbnails/973/906/covid-vaccine-hesitant-workers-leavitt-010921.jpg?crop=1.777xh:h;*,*&downsize=510px:* 510w")
More workplaces, including airlines and the federal government, have made COVID-19 vaccines mandatory and it’s creating division between workplace safety and employment for both unions and employees. 1:59
“We’re against all these mandates,” said Aynur Buyruk Bilen, of the so-called Plandemic Resistance Movement.
“I think that the vaccines aren’t complete and that it’s an experimental liquid.”
Turkey’s top trending Twitter hashtag was: “Maltepe is everywhere, resistance is everywhere.”
What’s happening across Canada
What’s happening around the world
As of Saturday, more than 224 million cases of COVID-19 had been reported worldwide, according to Johns Hopkins University’s COVID-19 case tracking tool. The reported global death toll stood at 4.6 million.
In Asia, China plans to donate three million doses of its coronavirus vaccine to Vietnam. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi made the pledge on Saturday as he wrapped up a two-day visit to Hanoi. The visit comes amid a virus lockdown in Vietnam to contain a coronavirus surge.
In Africa, just over three per cent of people across the continent have been fully vaccinated. Health officials and citizens in Africa often have little idea if vaccines will be available from one day to the next, as wealthier Western nations are awash with supply and mulling booster shots.
In the Americas, U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration is gearing up for another major clash between federal and state rule over its sweeping new vaccine requirements that have Republican governors threatening lawsuits. While many details about the rules remain unknown, some experts say Biden appears to be on firm legal ground to issue the directive in the name of protecting employee safety.
In Europe, France has announced new restrictions for U.S. travellers who are not vaccinated against the coronavirus. Starting Sunday, unvaccinated travellers from the U.S. who previously could enter with only a recent negative test must now show “pressing grounds for travel.”
