Thousands protest against coronavirus lockdowns in Australia: NPR

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Police arrested a protester at a Sydney Town Hall rally during an anti-lockdown rally on Saturday. Mick Tsikas/AP Hide Caption

Caption switch Mick Tsikas / AP

Police arrested a protester at a Sydney Town Hall rally during an anti-lockdown rally on Saturday.

Mick Tsikas/AFP

SYDNEY – Thousands of people took to the streets of Sydney and other Australian cities on Saturday to protest lockdown restrictions amid another surge in cases, and police made several arrests after crowds broke through barricades and threw plastic bottles and plants.

Unmasked participants walked from Sydney’s Victoria Park to Town Hall in the Central Business District carrying signs calling for “freedom” and “truth”.

There was a heavy police presence in Sydney, including mounted police and riot officers, in response to what authorities said was unauthorized protest activity. The police confirmed that a number of people were arrested after throwing things at the officers.

NSW Police said it recognizes and supports the rights to free speech and peaceful assembly, but the protest was in breach of public health orders.

“The priority for NSW Police is always the safety of the wider community,” a police statement said.

Protesters march in the streets of Sydney on Saturday. Mick Tsikas/AP Hide Caption

Caption switch Mick Tsikas / AP

Protesters march in the streets of Sydney on Saturday.

Mick Tsikas/AFP

The protest comes as the number of COVID-19 cases in the state hit another record with 163 new infections in the past 24 hours.

The Greater Sydney area has been closed for the past four weeks, and residents have only been able to leave the house with a reasonable excuse.

“We live in a democracy and normally I’m certainly someone who supports people’s rights to protest…but right now we have issues going through the roof and we have people who think it’s OK to go out there and maybe be close to each other at a rally,” state Health Secretary Brad Hazzard said. .

In Melbourne, thousands of maskless protesters took to the city center chanting “freedom”. Some of them lit torches as they gathered outside Parliament House in Victoria.

Clashes between protesters and mounted police in Sydney Town Hall on Saturday. Mick Tsikas/AP Hide Caption

Caption switch Mick Tsikas / AP

Clashes between protesters and mounted police in Sydney Town Hall on Saturday.

Mick Tsikas/AFP

They carried signs, including one that read: “This is not about a virus, this is about total government control of the people.”

A drive-by protest rally is also scheduled in Adelaide, which is also under lockdown, with police warning they will make arrests over illegal activity.

By Friday, 15.4% of the country’s population aged 16 and over had received both stabs for COVID-19.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said: “We’re past the corner, and we’ve sorted it out. We’re getting the marks we need to, and now a million doses a week are being delivered.” “We’re on our way to where we want to be by the end of the year and maybe sooner than that.”

The federal government has said it will send thousands of additional Pfizer doses to Sydney while adults in Australia’s largest city are urged to “think strongly” of AstraZeneca given the scarcity of Pfizer supplies.

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