POLICE CLASH WITH PROTESTERS AS AUSTRALIA REPORTS RECORD COVID-19 CASES

Sat 21 August 2021:

Hundreds of anti-lockdown protestors were detained in Melbourne and Sydney on Saturday, and seven cops were hospitalized as a result of the clashes, which saw the country’s largest single-day increase in COVID-19 cases ever.

In Melbourne, mounted police used pepper spray to disperse crowds of more than 4,000 people rushing into police lines, while in Sydney, a strong number of riot police prevented smaller groups of demonstrators from congregating.

Sydney, Australia’s largest city with a population of more than 5 million people, has been on lockdown for more than two months after an outbreak spread over internal borders and as far as neighboring New Zealand.

The vast majority of the 894 cases reported across Australia on Saturday were found in Sydney, the epicenter of the Delta variant-fuelled outbreak.

Gangs of armoured police units forcibly detain individuals attempting to join the anti-lockdown protest in Melbourne. pic.twitter.com/BFzJ9YZ6nm

— mikhail orlov (@mikhail86439176) August 21, 2021

Scenes from #Melbourne #lockdown protest#Australia pic.twitter.com/Oxo1avDDSk

— INDEPENDENT PRESS (@IpIndependent) August 21, 2021

Anti-lockdown protest in Melbourne.#australiaprotests #sydneyprotest #melbourneprotests pic.twitter.com/HUdwIDpzTX

— INDEPENDENT PRESS (@IpIndependent) August 21, 2021

Demonstrations and clashes with the police against the lockdown in Australia.#australiaprotests #sydneyprotest #Melbourne pic.twitter.com/3xGJvHTNS3

— INDEPENDENT PRESS (@IpIndependent) August 21, 2021

Police in New South Wales, where Sydney is the capital, said they charged 47 people with breaching public health orders or resisting arrest, among other offenses, and issued more than 260 fines ranging from A$50 ($35) to $3,000. The police said about 250 people made it to the city for the protest.

218 people were arrested in the state capital of Melbourne, according to Victoria state police. For attacking police, they issued 236 penalties and detained three people. For violating public health orders, the arrested offenders face fines of A$5,452 ($3,900) each.

Several hundred people also protested peacefully in Brisbane, which is not in lockdown.

About 43,000 cases of COVID-19 have been reported in Australia, with 978 deaths. While those figures are low, according to federal health ministry data released on Saturday, only around a third of Australians aged 16 and up are fully vaccinated.

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