Anti-Lockdown Protest Planned in London

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LONDON (ChurchMilitant.com) - Throngs of people in the United Kingdom have had enough of government COVID-19 restrictions.

Demonstrators will descend on London's Trafalgar Square on Saturday to speak out against Wuhan virus lockdown orders, mask mandates and social distancing regulations.

The protest is also opposing mandatory vaccination and a slew of other measures — whether enacted or merely proposed — that are seen as violations of people's rights. A number of medical professionals will be speaking at the protest, which is scheduled for 12 p.m. GMT on Saturday, Aug. 29.

A graphic advertising for the protest has been shared by various accounts on Twitter and Instagram. There also appears to be a Facebook event for the rally.

Multiple groups have helped organize Saturday's protest, according to graphic shared online. Notable among them is Keep Britain Free, a movement opposing government lockdown orders.

'Monumental Mistake'

News of this protest comes after a U.K. scientist, Mark Woolhouse, slammed government lockdown orders as a "monumental mistake." 

"I suspect right now more people are being harmed by the collateral effects of lockdown than by COVID-19," Woolhouse said.

Woolhouse has advised the government as a member of the Scientific Pandemic Influenza Group on Behaviors.

He warned that measures meant to combat the virus can have a negative knock-on effect, saying, "I believe the harm lockdown is doing to our education, health care access and broader aspects of our economy and society will turn out to be at least as great as the harm done by COVID-19."

In March, the U.K. parliament voted to give the government emergency powers to tackle the Wuhan virus pandemic.

At the time, freedom-minded organizations believed the emergency powers posed a threat to citizens' civil liberties.

One such group, simply named Liberty, called for "tighter, regular scrutiny of these powers throughout the COVID-19 crisis and for there to be a clear and well-communicated sunset clause on this legislation."

Ian Dunt, editor of Politics.co.uk, noted in an op-ed piece in March, "We've never seen a bill like this. The powers it is going to give the state are unprecedented. It is the most extensive encroachment on British civil liberties we have ever seen outside of wartime."

Disability rights advocates also spoke out against the measure, saying it would have the effect of allowing local authorities to cease providing social-care support to the disabled.

Now, about five months later, some citizens fear the government's emergency powers could be extended indefinitely.

More Are Questioning Lockdown

People in the United Kingdom aren't the only ones fearful for their civil liberties.

In Quebec Aug. 8, thousands gathered in Montreal — the province's largest city — to protest mask regulations.

On Monday, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control advised retail workers not to argue with angry customers who refuse to comply with mask requirements — in order to avoid altercations.

Hundreds of Spaniards gathered in Madrid Aug. 16 to protest mask regulations, as well as a laundry list of new laws passed in the name of combating the Wuhan virus — such as a ban on smoking in many public places introduced in Galicia (a region in northwestern Spain).

Likewise, in Ireland, a large crowd gathered in Dublin Aug. 22 to protest mask mandates and lockdown orders.

In the United States, many anti-lockdown protests took place earlier this year, as 49 of the 50 states — all except South Dakota — issued a stay-at-home order and/or required so-called non-essential businesses to close.

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