‘Use federal powers, end bridge blockade’

Protestors and supporters set up the blockade at the foot of Ambassador Bridge, sealing off the flow of commercial traffic over it into Canada from Detroit, USA on Thursday. Pic/AFP

The Biden administration urged Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government Thursday to use its federal powers to end the truck blockade by Canadians protesting the country's Covid-19 restrictions, as the bumper-to-bumper demonstration forced auto plants on both sides of the border to shut down or scale back production.

For the fourth straight day, scores of truckers taking part in what they dubbed the Freedom Convoy blocked Ambassador Bridge connecting Windsor, Ontario, to Detroit, disrupting the flow of auto parts and other products between the countries. The White House said Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg spoke to Canadian counterparts and urged them to help resolve the standoff.

Trudeau virtually met leaders of Canada's opposition late Thursday and said he spoke to Windsor's mayor. Trudeau's office said there is a willingness to "respond with whatever it takes" to end the blockades. Conservative Ontario Premier Doug Ford, moved to cut off funding for the protests by successfully asking a court to freeze millions of dollars in donations to the convoy through crowd-funding site GiveSendGo. Ford has called the protests an occupation. With political and economic pressure mounting, Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens announced the city will seek a court injunction to end the occupation. "The economic harm is not sustainable and it must come to an end," he said. US authorities braced for similar truck-borne protests inspired by the Canadians, and authorities in Paris and Belgium banned road blockades to avoid disruptions there.

UK: No testing for jabbed travellers

Vaccinated travellers can enter Britain without taking coronavirus tests starting Friday, after the government scrapped one of the final restrictions imposed over two years due to Covid-19. Unjabbed people will still take tests before and after arriving.

Denmark to stop Covid vaccines

Health authorities in Denmark said Friday that they were considering "winding down" the country's vaccination programme in spring and see no reason now for a booster to children or a fourth shot to residents at risk of severe Covid-19. The Health Authority said in a statement that the third infection wave in the nation was waning "due to the large population immunity."

23,32,592
No. of new cases reported globally in the past 24 hours

40,20,44,502
Total no. of cases worldwide

57,70,023
Total no. of deaths worldwide

Source: WHO/Johns Hopkins

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