Thousands in Brussels protest against Covid restrictions

A police officer uses pepper spray during a protest against coronavirus measures in Brussels, Belgium, on December 5 (Geert Vanden Wijngaert/AP)

Thousands of peaceful protesters demonstrated in central Brussels on Sunday for a third time against reinforced Covid-19 restrictions imposed by the Belgian government to counter a surge in infections and the emergence of the worrying Omicron variant.

A strong police presence was deployed on the streets in anticipation of the crowds, after previous protests sometimes descended into violence, arrests and injuries.