Hundreds protest in Serbia over COVID closures

Musicians were among several hundred demonstrators who gared in central Belgre on Sunday to protest weekend closure of all non-essential businesses aimed at curbing rising infections.

crowd rallied outside Serbian parliament building, carrying banners reing "Let us work!" and "We don't accept life without music."

y have demanded more help from state after a year of crisis that has left many without an income.

Authorities have banned all concerts and have only allowed food stores, gas stations and pharmacies to open this weekend as country struggles to contain a surge of over 4,000 daily new infections in past week.

Officials are hoping country's vaccination program will help put outbreak under control.

Serbia has vaccinated more than 1.2 million of its 7 million people with at least one shot from China’s Sinopharm, Pfizer-BioNTech, Russia’s Sputnik V or AstraZeneca, which is among highest rates of inoculations in Europe.