Protesters gathered to march against the introduction of a “corona pass” in the Netherlands as proof of Covid-19 vaccination became compulsory to get into bars, restaurants, theatres and other venues.

The new requirement to show the pass, or a recent negative coronavirus test, coincided with the lifting of almost all social distancing measures in the country, where 72 per cent of the population has received at least one vaccine dose.

While face masks will still be mandatory on public transport, students and teachers will no longer have to wear masks in schools, and a rule for 1.5 metre (nearly 5 feet) distancing in public was also scrapped.

Several hundred protesters gathered in The Hague, the seat of the Dutch government, to march through the city centre.