BBC
Here are five things you need to know about the coronavirus pandemic this Saturday morning. We’ll have another update for you on Sunday.
1. Dutch police clash with anti-lockdown rioters
Violent scenes have erupted in the Netherlands as hundreds of protesters gathered to oppose Covid-19 measures in the country. Rioting in Rotterdam saw stones and fireworks being thrown at police and vehicles being set ablaze. Officers fired warning shots and direct shots “because the situation was life-threatening”, a police spokesperson told Reuters news agency. At least two people were injured as a result of the shots, they added. A water cannon was also used. The Netherlands imposed a three-week partial Covid lockdown earlier this month. Several European countries are imposing restrictions as cases rise.
2. Mental health deaths on the rise, figures suggest
The number of deaths of people being treated under the Mental Health Act in England rose during the coronavirus pandemic, estimates suggest. The Care Quality Commission’s findings come amid concerns over staff shortages in psychiatric units. Some 490 people died while being detained under the act in the year to March 2021 – 324 of them for non-Covid reasons, the regulator says. The average overall figure between 2012 and 2019 was 273, the CQC adds. Former Conservative Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt has warned that staff shortages were now compromising patient safety in “every part of the NHS”.
