Angry crowds march against lockdowns

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

The unmasked participants marched from Sydney’s Victoria Park to Town Hall in the central business district, carrying signs calling for ‘‘freedom’’ and ‘‘the truth.’’

There was a heavy police presence in Sydney, including mounted police and riot officers in response to what authorities said was unauthorised protest activity. Police confirmed a number of arrests had been made.

New South Wales Police said it recognised and supported the rights of free speech and peaceful assembly, but the protest was a breach of public health orders.

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

The protest comes as Covid-19 case numbers in the state reached another record with 163 new infections in the last 24 hours.

Greater Sydney has been locked down for the past four weeks, with residents only able to leave home with a reasonable excuse.

‘‘We live in a democracy and normally I am certainly one who supports people’s rights to protest

. . . but at the present time we’ve got cases going through the roof and we have people thinking that’s OK to get out there and possibly be close to each other at a demonstration,’’ said state Health Minister Brad Hazzard.

In Melbourne, thousands of protesters without masks turned out downtown chanting ‘‘freedom.’’ Some of them lit flares as they gathered outside Victoria state’s Parliament House.

They held banners, including one that read: ‘‘This is not about a virus it’s about total government control of the people.’’

A car protest rally is also planned in Adelaide, which is also under lockdown, with police warning they will make arrests over unlawful activity.

Meanwhile, NSW will beef up its vaccine strategy with thousands of extra Pfizer doses from the federal government in its bid

to quash Sydney’s Covid-19 outbreak.

The federal government announced yesterday that it will send thousands of extra Pfizer doses from the national stockpile to NSW, in addition to 150,000 extra doses already sent.

The Prime Minister’s Office told AAP the extra Pfizer doses are set to arrive in NSW within the week. The Commonwealth’s intervention comes after other

states and territories pushed back at the national cabinet meeting on Friday against the NSW government’s pleas for Pfizer vaccines to be diverted to Sydney’s virus hot spots.

Chant warned on Friday that the scheme could see some people’s vaccine appointments cancelled, but she said hard choices would be necessary to stem the spread.

The government is also urging people to consider getting the AstraZeneca vaccine.

Health Minister Hazzard said members of the community had a duty to help quash the outbreak, that would be fulfilled by getting the AstraZeneca vaccine.

‘‘Your obligation to yourself, the community, NSW and indeed Australia . . . is to go to get the jabs of AstraZeneca,’’ he said.

Chant said her own husband and mother-in-law had received the AstraZeneca, describing the risks as ‘‘infinitesimally small compared to the benefits’’.