The Prime Minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines was hospitalized after being injured when a stone struck his head during a protest against a proposed vaccine mandate.
Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves was hit in the head by a stone when he was walking through a crowd of raucous demonstrators protesting to denounce a bill that would compel Covid-19 shots for the nation.
Images show the prime minister bleeding as he is rushed away from the scene.
In a statement, Gonsalves’ office confirmed that he was “physically assaulted and wounded by opposition demonstrators while attempting to enter the House of Assembly.”
The Finance Minister Camilo Gonsalves, who’s also PM’s son, said that Gonsalves had been transferred to Barbados for an MRI scan on the advice of medical staff.
The Protest was held in response to an amendment that would remove the word ‘voluntary’ from the country’s Public Health Act that pertains to vaccines.
While the officials have reasoned that the amended law would only apply to certain frontline workers, the fear of the possibility that the officials could impose a full-on mandate has triggered a number of street protests.
According to Johns Hopkins University, the country, made up of more than 32 islands, has recorded 2,298 coronavirus cases and 12 deaths since the pandemic begins; almost 9% of the population has been fully vaccinated.
