Coronavirus: Australian police clash with lockdown protesters; hundreds arrested

Australian police on Saturday clashed with anti-lockdown protesters in Melbourne and Sydney as officials reported a record single-day rise in coronavirus cases. Mounted police used pepper spray in Melbourne to break up crowds believed to be over 4,000. Seven officers were injured and more than 200 people were arrested in the “violent and unlawful” protest, Victoria Police said in a statement. “While there were some peaceful protesters in attendance, the majority of those who attended came with violence in mind,” they said. Police had vowed to hand out fines of A$5,000 (US$3,600) to any protester they could identify taking part. An increasing outbreak in Victoria prompted stay-at-home orders to be extended across the entire state on Saturday. How does ‘zero-Covid’ end? After Hong Kong U-turn, questions mount over exit strategy In Sydney more than 1,500 police flooded the city, setting up roadblocks and making dozens of arrests as around 250 gathered there, NSW Police said. Many were prevented from congregating by police. On Saturday, authorities extended the city’s lockdown until at least September to try to head off the Delta variant. Several hundred people also protested in Brisbane, which is not in lockdown. Sydney, a city of more than 5 million people, has been in a strict lockdown for more than two months now, failing so far to contain an outbreak that has spread across internal borders and as far as neighbouring New Zealand. The vast majority of the 894 cases reported across Australia on Saturday were found in Sydney, the epicentre of the Delta variant-fuelled outbreak. “No matter how hard we work, no matter if 99 per cent of people are doing the right thing, there’s an element of Delta that nobody can control,” NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian told media. “The best way we can look forward to freedom is by making sure that we get vaccinated.” NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard described the situation as very serious. “There is no time now to be selfish, it’s time to think of the broader community and your families.” Will Covid-19 become more infectious with more variants emerging? Although often violent, anti-lockdown protests are not broadly supported by Australians. A late-July poll by market research firm Utting Research showed that only 7 per cent of people support the demonstrations. Compliance with public health rules has been one of the key cited reasons behind Australia’s success in managing the pandemic. But the country has been struggling to rein in the third wave of infections that began in Sydney in mid-June. Only about a third of Australians aged 16 and above have been fully vaccinated, according to federal health ministry data released on Saturday. The country has recorded just over 43,000 cases and 978 deaths since the start of the pandemic. NZ’s Delta outbreak spreads amid lockdown New Zealand’s Covid-19 Delta outbreak rose to 51 cases with 21 new local infections recorded on Saturday, with PM Jacinda Ardern warning cases were expected to increase. Of the 21 new cases, 18 are in the largest city, Auckland, and three in the capital, Wellington. The country’s outbreak has been linked to a traveller from Sydney. Ardern on Friday extended a snap nationwide lockdown until midnight on Tuesday. “One of the things we’ve learned from New South Wales is the virus can continue to spread during lockdown,” she said. “No one wants an extended lockdown and no one wants to see that rate of transmission, so the number one thing everyone can do right now is reduce your contacts.” The country has recorded just over 2,600 cases and 26 coronavirus-related deaths, according to the health ministry. Only 19 per cent of the 5 million people have been fully vaccinated, the slowest pace among OECD nations. Tokyo reports over 5,000 cases The Tokyo metropolitan government reported 5,074 new coronavirus cases on Saturday, topping the 5,000 level for the fourth straight day. The seven-day rolling average of Covid-19 infections came to 4,719.0 per day, up 11.5 per cent from the previous week, according to the capital’s government. Nationwide, the number of new infections on Saturday topped 25,000 for the third day in a row. Despite anti-virus measures taken under the state of emergency and quasi-emergency status in hard-hit areas, Japan is grappling with its largest wave of infections yet, with the strain on the medial system showing no signs of abating. Vietnam enlists army to deliver food ahead of lockdown Vietnam’s government on Saturday said it was sending troops to Ho Chi Minh City to help deliver food and aid to households, as it further tightens restrictions on people’s movements. The soldiers are supporting logistical efforts as the city of 10 million people asks residents to “stay put” for two weeks starting from Monday, according to a government statement. The move comes as Vietnam, which weathered much the pandemic with very few cases, recorded more than 10,000 new infections and 390 deaths on Friday. Ho Chi Minh City accounted for 3,500 of those infections. Vietnam bans people from leaving their homes as Covid-19 deaths jump “People must absolutely stay put, isolate from each other, from house to house, from community to community,” PM Pham Minh Chinh said during a meeting on Friday with southern provinces hit by the outbreak. The prime minster also called on migrant workers to stay in the city to avoid spreading the virus as the flee before further restrictions on movement come into effect. Vietnam managed to keep the infection rate relatively low up until April and until then had only recorded 35 deaths. Since August, it has reported average of more than 300 deaths daily. South Korea expects half the country to be fully immunised in weeks South Korea expects half of its population to be fully inoculated by the end of September as the pace of vaccinations in the country picks up. “The progress is faster than expected,” President Moon Jae-in wrote in a Facebook post on Saturday. “Over 50 per cent of the population has now received their first vaccine dose, and the pace of them receiving their second shots is quickening.” Will South Korea’s Covid-19 vaccines become as important as its semiconductors? Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum has said the government is looking at various ways, such as cross-inoculation with other companies, to reach a 70 per cent first-shot vaccination rate by the end of September, and potentially a 70 per cent rate for second shots by the end of October or at least mid-November. Currently, 22.3 per cent of the population have been fully vaccinated, according to the Korea Disease Control & Prevention Agency. South Korea has one of the lowest inoculation rates among major Asian economies as cases surged to record highs this month. Palau no longer Covid-free The tiny Pacific nation of Palau reported its first coronavirus cases on Saturday, losing its prized status as one of the world’s few Covid-free countries as authorities appealed for calm. Two travellers, who tested positive after arriving from Guam, have been placed in quarantine along with their known contacts. “We urge everyone to remain calm,” the Ministry of Health said in a statement after deciding against imposing lockdown measures. With more than 80 per cent of the 18,000 population fully vaccinated, President Surangel Whipps insisted the remote island state “has been Covid-free but is now Covid-safe”. WHO calls for experts to help with probe into Covid-19 origins Until Saturday, Palau was just one of fourteen countries in the world that had recorded no virus cases at all, according to the World Health Organization. The Health Ministry would not say how many contacts were in isolation but a spokesman told AFP they did not believe there had been any community transmission. Whipps added if anyone who has been fully vaccinated does become infected “it will be just like a flu or they won’t show symptoms at all”. The infected travellers tested negative 72 hours before departure but were positive when they had a compulsory test five days after arrival. Palau protocols demand that in the first five days after arriving, people wear masks and avoid crowds. The country is not able to determine which strain of the coronavirus the new cases are and a sample has been sent to the US for analysis. Reporting by Reuters, AP, AFP, Kyodo