STA, 3 April 2021 - Some 150 protesters gathered in the Maribor city centre on Saturday to protest against anti-coronavirus measures. The rally was organised through social networks. The protesters did not wear face masks and did not keep a safety distance.
"Enjoy while you can", "Today we have classes in a furniture store", and "We are wearing a smile at schools not masks" were some of the banners the protesters carried. One of the banners urged teachers to wear masks and get tested so that schools could be open.
Police officers merely monitored the event and occasionally issued a warning on a megaphone.
Taxi drivers joined the rally by driving their cars in a roundabout and honking their horns.
The group that gathered in Main Square was later joined by a large number of people and together they proceeded to the Freedom Square shouting "Masks off, and the government to jail", the newspaper Večer reported online.
The initiators of the rally also noted that a call by parents, pedagogues and other citizens against testing children for coronavirus had already been supported by 15,000 signatures.
They believe this clearly shows that they do not allow for any interfering with the basic constitutional and human rights of children and other citizens.
The initiatives, including We Will Not Give Our Children and Masks Off, claim that the authorities are destroying the foundations of the rule of law in the name of the epidemic, using repression and destroying the essence of human beings.
Meanwhile, the epidemiological situation in the country is deteriorating. On Friday, 1,296 infections were confirmed in 4,998 tests, pushing the rolling seven-day average of new cases to 1,047.
Currently, more than 530 Covid-19 patients are in hospitals, 16 more than the day before, including 123 in intensive care, up five from the day before. Five people died.
