JAKARTA - Police in Melbourne fired pepper balls and rubber pellets on Thursday, a decisive move to disperse thousands of protesters who defied lockdown orders or stayed home to damage property, blocked a busy highway and injured three officers, leading to more than 40 arrests. , said the authorities.
This is the second day of protests in Melbourne, which is under lockdown to prevent the spread of the Delta variant of COVID-19, after authorities closed a construction site for two weeks, saying workers' movements frequently spread the coronavirus.
"This is a very challenging environment for us," said Shane Patton, police commissioner for the State of Victoria, adding that the protests were unlawful.
Television and social media showed video images of protesters marching through the streets, firing flares, shouting and attacking police cars, surrounded by police on horseback and officers in riot gear.
The protesters included not only construction workers, but also opponents of mandatory vaccination and Victoria's extended lockdown, who condemned the COVID-19 vaccine, State Prime Minister Dan Andrews and union leaders, who have supported vaccination for members.
"Actions of violence and harassment will not reduce a single case of COVID, in fact it will only help the virus spread," Dan Andrews said in a statement Tuesday evening local time.
The halt to construction activities following protests against the COVID-19 vaccination order turned violent on Monday. Please note, Australia requires all construction workers to receive at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine by the end of this week.
"The public health team has no choice but to continue working over the next two weeks to improve compliance," said state Health Minister Martin Foley.
Australia has locked down major cities, such as Sydney, Melbourne including the capital Canberra, to control the outbreak of the highly contagious Delta variant of COVID-19. But the tight restrictions have sparked anti-lockdown demonstrations with police arresting hundreds of people in two cities over the weekend.
This Tuesday, Victoria recorded 603 new COVID-19 infections, the highest daily number of infections added this year, with one new death recorded. New South Wales reported 1,022 new infections, the majority in the capital Sydney, up from 935 yesterday, with 10 deaths recorded.
Meanwhile, authorities have begun to relax some restrictions on outdoor gatherings and sports in Sydney and Melbourne, as COVID-19 vaccination progress improves.
To date, 53 per cent of adults in New South Wales have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19, while in Victoria the coverage is 44 per cent. Previously, the government had promised to relax restrictions, if the vaccination percentage had reached 70 to 80 percent.
Launching Worldometers, Australia has so far recorded a total of 88,729 cases of COVID-19 infection, with 1,178 deaths and 63,378 patients declared cured since the start of the pandemic.
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