Date Time COVID-19 response utilized to erode democracy in some countries Life with COVID-19 in Gaza. While the socio-economic and health impacts of the pandemic have grabbed most of the headlines, the virus has also enabled repression and the denial of human rights. COVID-19 restrictions contributed to an increase in political violence in some nations, and provided an opportunity for autocratic regimes to further erode human rights and democratic institutions says a new paper. There was an increase in protests and riots in the majority of fragile states in 2020 compared to 2019, according to Secondary impacts of COVID-19: Closing civic space in fragile contexts. More than 80,000 incidents of political violence were recorded during the year, with up to 94,000 fatalities.