Violent protests against Corona lockdown in Melbourne

In the Australian metropolis of Melbourne, several police officers have been injured during violent protests against the ongoing Corona Lockdown. More than 200 demonstrators were arrested, police said on Saturday. According to the report, the demonstrators broke through barriers in the city center and engaged in violent clashes with officers.

Despite a ban on gathering, some 700 people took part in Saturday's protest, according to police. Officers were reportedly pelted with projectiles, while others were literally "trampled" in the crowd. Six police officers had to be hospitalized. Among other things, police used pepper spray against the protesters.

"What we saw today was a group of protesters who were not standing up for the defense of freedoms but wanted to pick fights with police," said Victoria State Police Chief Mark Galliott.

In Sydney, in the neighboring state of New South Wales, a huge police force succeeded in preventing similar gatherings. According to police, there were about 20 arrests.

Long-term lockdowns are currently in place in Australia's two largest cities, Sydney and Melbourne, due to the Corona pandemic. Although Australia had initially been able to contain the coronavirus to a large extent by closing its borders, quickly imposing lockdowns and intensive contact tracing, the delta variant has led to larger outbreaks in recent months. However, the delta variant has led to major outbreaks in recent months. In addition, the vaccination campaign in Australia has been sluggish. The seven-day incidence was 48.3 in Australia on Saturday, according to Johns Hopkins University, with about 36 percent of the population fully vaccinated.

Photo by Jonathan Harrison