14 February,2022 08:22 AM IST | Windsor | Agencies
Paul Acorn sits in front of police officers as they block the entrance to the Ambassador Bridge in Windsor, Ontario on Saturday. Pic/AFP
Police moved in to clear and arrest the remaining protesters near a key U.S.-Canadian border bridge early Sunday, trying to end one of the main protests that have broken out across Canada and the world against COVID-19 vaccine mandates and other restrictions.
Windsor police said arrests were being made and vehicles were being towed just after dawn near the Ambassador Bridge linking Detroit and Windsor, Ontario - the busiest border crossing to the U.S. Television images showed officers detaining protesters.
Only two pickup trucks and less than a dozen protesters blocked the road to the bridge before police moved in. Afterward, police barricades remained and it was not immediately clear when the bridge might be opened.
Police on Saturday had persuaded demonstrators to move their pickup trucks and others cars that they used at the entrance to the crossing that sees 25% of all trade between the two countries, though it remained closed.
The protests at the bridge, in Ottawa and elsewhere have reverberated outside the country, with similarly inspired convoys in France, New Zealand and the Netherlands, and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security warned that truck convoys may be in the works in the United States.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has so far rejected calls to use the military, but had said that "all options are on the table" to end the protests that have affected the economy on both sides of the border. Trudeau has called the protesters a "fringe" of Canadian society. Ottawa police said in a statement late Saturday that a joint command center had now been set up together with the Ontario Provincial Police and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. They said that would beef up enforcement capabilities that had been limited by "safety concerns - arising from aggressive, illegal behavior by many demonstrators - limited police enforcement capabilities."
Police earlier issued a statement calling the protest an unlawful occupation and saying they were waiting for reinforcements before implementing a plan to end the demonstrations.
Singapore's Health Minister Ong Ye Kung has said that 15,000-20,000 infections per day is something within expectations in the city-state. On Saturday, Singapore reported 10,505 new cases, the fourth time this week that daily infections have exceeded the 10,000 mark. It had eight deaths linked to the virus. "Omicron is highly transmissible so reaching 15,000-20,000 or more is something within our expectations. So far, it's been that. It's been staying around 10,000 for some days, which gives us some comfort," Channel News Asia quoted Kung on Saturday.
24,73,605 No. of new cases reported globally in the past 24 hours
40,49,10,528 Total no. of cases worldwide
57,83,776 Total no. of deaths worldwide
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