Melbourne Authorities Say COVID-19 Anti-lockdown Demonstrations Infiltrated By Extremists And Far-right

JAKARTA - Police have been deployed across Melbourne City center in anticipation of the COVID-19 anti-lockdown protest for the third day in a row, as the State of Victoria sees an increase in infections.

More than 60 people were arrested on Tuesday, after more than 2,000 protesters damaged property, blocked a busy freeway and injured three police officers, following a two-week closure of a construction site to limit the spread of the disease.

A group of protesters roamed the streets and gathered at a city landmark on Wednesday, despite orders to stay home, but mostly avoided clashes with police buses. Meanwhile, state police chief Shane Patton vowed to prevent more violence.

Police asked aviation authorities to declare a no-fly zone over Melbourne, the state capital, for operational and safety reasons, police media official Belinda Batty said.

"This is a very dynamic situation," he told Reuters as quoted on September 22, but declined to disclose the number of arrests.

By late afternoon, television images showed a large group of police had dispersed several hundred protesters who had gathered at the Temple of Remembrance, which honors war service.

In the clip, groups of two or three police officers lead protesters away from the structure, one by one, before appearing to take down their details on a nearby lawn.

The protests follow the authorities' decision to make a COVID-19 vaccine mandatory for construction workers and to enforce building site closures from Tuesday, citing non-compliance with health rules.

However, authorities and union officials say extremist and far-right groups have also infiltrated the protests.

"There were some people there who you would say were from the building industry. There were others who weren't, they weren't there to protest, they were there to fight, pretend to be protesting," said the state's prime minister, Daniel. Andrews.

Some protesters refused to speak to reporters at the scene, chanting "fake news" when approached, local media said. Others held banners with the slogan, "End the lockdown now!"

Meanwhile, Australia's biggest cities of Sydney and Melbourne, as well as the capital, Canberra, have been in lockdown for weeks to contain the Delta variant outbreak. Melbourne itself is already in its sixth lockdown, the most during the pandemic.

Authorities in Sydney and Melbourne are continuing to make preparations to ease some restrictions, as the number of adults who have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 reaches 70 per cent which is expected to be achieved next month. Meanwhile, further relaxation will be given when vaccination reaches 80 percent.

About 54 per cent of people aged 16 and over were fully vaccinated in the most populous state of New South Wales, with 45 per cent in the southeastern state of Victoria.

Meanwhile, Victoria recorded 628 new infections on Wednesday, its biggest one-day gain this year, exceeding its previous high of 603 the day before. New South Wales, whose capital is Sydney, had a total of 1,035 new infections, up from 1,022 on Tuesday.

To note, Australia has recorded a total of around 90,300 COVID-19 cases, including 1,186 deaths, with eight new deaths reported, since the pandemic began.