Protests have been coming up across various Australian cities against the never ending Covid lockdown restrictions.
Thousands of Aussies gathered in Sydney to stage their frustration with the lockdowns and stay-at-home orders. Some small protests also took place in parts of Melbourne and Brisbane.
‘Freedom’
People sang “freedom” while marching in central Sydney. Police department has confirmed that they had detained 57 people from the proest sites for disturbing civil norms.
Australian governments have re-introduced closures and stay-at-home mandates across the country amid new delta variant outbreak.
COVID’s Delta Variant
The Delta’s highly contagious variant has challenged the country’s previous strategy of border closures, quarantine schemes and solitary confinement that have in the past helped to keep cases low.
Vaccination rates remain very low in developed countries, where less than 14% of the population having received their first dose of a jab.
On Saturday thousands of people marched through the center of Sydney through the town of Haymarket.
New South Wales (NSW) health official recently announced that the area was a COVID hot spot, reports ABC News.
Police Department Issues Notice
Others carried placards reading “Drop your mask, lift your voice” and “Wake Up Australia”.
Protesters disrupted general roads and gathered outside Sydney City Hall. One group attacked the police officials on site by throwing bottles at them.
“The NSW police force respects and supports the rights of individuals or groups to exercise their right to free speech and peaceful assembly, however, today’s protest violates the current rules of the Covid-19 Public Health Orders,” the statement said.
Where Else Did Protests Take Place?
Smaller protest gatherings were also reported from regions in Melbourne, where people lit lanterns outside Parliament, and in Brisbane, at the Botanic Gardens.
Some 13 million Australians – about half the population of the country- is now back under lockdown restrictions .
Sydney has now been under snap lockdown measure for four weeks, but continues to see increase in number of cases.
NSW officials announced a record increase of 163 new infections on Saturday.
State Health Minister Brad Hazzard echoed Premier Gladys Berejiklian’s call for some provinces to send additional doses of vaccines to NSW.
