- After the authorities suggested that the restrictions might last until the second day after October, demonstrators who did not wear masks ignored the regulations on non-essential travel and public gatherings.
- Organizers referred to the protest as a “free” rally and made it public on social media pages that are often used to spread false information about vaccines and conspiracy theories.
- New South Wales reported 163 new cases on Saturday.
Thousands of anti-blockade protesters gathered in Australia’s two largest cities on Saturday. Several of them were arrested in Sydney after violent clashes with the police.
Opponents against the month-long stay in Sydney took to the streets. A group of people accused the Mounted Police of throwing potted plants and bottles.
In Melbourne, local media reported that thousands of protesters who had gathered outside the state legislature gathered in the streets in the early afternoon.
After the authorities suggested that the restrictions might last until the second day after October, demonstrators who did not wear masks ignored the regulations on non-essential travel and public gatherings.
Sydney police said they had launched a “high-visibility policing operation” in response to the protests.
The force said: “So far, many people have been arrested during the operation.”
Organizers referred to the protest as a “free” rally and promoted it on social media pages that are often used to spread false information about vaccines and conspiracy theories.
Participants held up slogans and banners with the words “Wake up Australia” and “Drain the swamp”-echoing messages seen in similar demonstrations overseas.
Read here | “Australia is under lockdown and the number of Covid-19 cases has surged
Helicopters buzzed on the streets above Sydney, a city with a population of 5 million that is working hard to contain the delta virus outbreak.
Similar gatherings are planned in other urban centers.
New South Wales, with Sydney as its capital, reported 163 new cases on Saturday, with nearly 2,000 infections in the current outbreak.
After escaping unharmed most of the early pandemic, about half of Australia’s 25 million people are now locked down in multiple cities.
People are getting more and more angry about these restrictions, which are usually only partially complied with and the conservative government’s failure to provide adequate vaccine supplies.
Only 11% of the population is fully vaccinated.
Stephen Jones, a member of the National Assembly from Sydney, denounced the protesters as “selfish and reckless idiots.”
“No one wants to be blocked. This is how you stick to it.”
The police stated that they support “freedom of speech and peaceful assembly, but today’s protest violates the current COVID-19 public health order”.
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