Protesters campaign in Cardiff Bay against the government Covid-19 regulations

On Sunday, October 11th people marched around Cardiff Bay protesting the local lockdown, face masks, vaccinations and covid-19 testing. Protestors were not complying with the 2 metre rule or wearing face masks. South Wales Police were also present.

One protestor, attending with her family and children, told The Cardiff Tab that the virus was “A hoax created to control the citizens” and that they, “can’t dance, can’t sing, can’t spend time with family, and for what?”

They claimed that they were protesting because, “human rights are being endangered,” and that proof could be found on the government website for COVID-19 consultations. Protestors have previously expressed their concerns over the Facebook group  and Twitter account ‘stand up x’, which was how the news about the protest spread. When asked about how they found out about the protest, and who organised it, they said: “The people involved aren’t important, the movement is” and that they, “Try to meet up as often as possible.”

While walking down the street, several of them were chanting, “Free Wales! Free Cardiff!” and told The Cardiff Tab that “We shouldn’t all be locked out,” because there’s a “99.9% survival rate.” They insisted that the COVID-19 tests weren’t accurate with only a 7% accuracy rate and that, “The tests weren’t designed to test for covid.”

Protestors also expressed their concerns over being vaccinated against the virus since they believed that the government was, “planning to vaccinate with unlicensed vaccines, without consent, and without medical check ups.”

Signs ranged from messages that said, “Freedom over Fear,” and “say no to the tyranny” to more extreme messages such as “Singing and dancing banned?!? Are we ruled by Taliban now?”. Leaflets filled with links providing evidence against the pandemic were also given out

South Wales Police stated on their twitter that three individuals that attended the event were “reported for summons for breaching Covid-19 restrictions by entering Cardiff without a reasonable excuse.”

In another tweet from the South Wales Police account, it was said that further action against the individuals is “anticipated”.

Non-protestors watching the campaign expressed their concern for the protestors and said, “You don’t get any intelligent people protesting stuff like this.” Others said that while some of the views were reasonable, “The government has handled the pandemic badly. But protesting its existence? Despite so much evidence? That’s just stupid.”

Another passer-by was horrified by the posters and said, “It’s so disrespectful to not wear a mask and not sanitise your hands. People don’t understand how serious this is until a relative has it or they experience it themselves.”

She also mentioned that her parents had gotten the virus and were hospitalised for several weeks, leaving her completely on her own, “Yes, maybe it is just a flu but it’s still one we don’t know a lot about.” and that the world, “doesn’t know enough about it.”

One non-protestor said that while she didn’t believe in the virus, she still thinks it’s important to follow the guidelines, “I was scared at the beginning but now I think the pandemic affects people’s mental health more than anything else. I’ll still wear my mask and sanitise my hands even if I don’t believe in it.”

“Wear the mask! Don’t risk other people.”