Despite a weeks-long stay-at-home order, Australias most populated state reportedly recorded an increase in new COVID-19 cases, and police swore to suppress any recurrence of the raucous anti-lockdown rally over the weekend.
New South Wales, which had imposed a lockdown in Sydney to curb the widespread of Delta variant of the virus, shutting over 5 million people in the city, saw 145 new coronavirus cases, up from 141 the previous day.
It is worth noting that 51 of the newly diagnosed individuals were out and about in the community before they tested positive, raising the likelihood of transmission. Authorities have stated they want that number to be as low as possible before the city lifts the pandemic's most strict lockdown on the target date of July 30.
State Premier Gladys Berejiklian mentioned some settings could change, and they need to push harder in some areas while letting go of other institutions. She further promised to offer an update on the movement restrictions in the coming days.
A swarm of protestors marched in central Sydney over the weekend in an anti-lockdown rally that turned violent, an incident that state health official Kerry Chant termed distressing.
State police commissioner Mick Fuller stated approximately 10,000 people had reported on the police hotline of those violating lockdown orders as pictures and videos of the protest rapidly spread on social media, including an image of a man reportedly punching a police horse in the head.
Fuller described the calls to police as an uproar from the community, not only in terms of their displeasure at the protest but also in terms of the way the police were treated.
The outbreak of the highly contagious Delta variant was triggered last month by an infected airport transit driver in Sydney, sending over half of the country's 25 million citizens back into lockdown.
Australia has managed to keep the figures relatively low, with roughly 32,900 cases and 918 deaths, although the Delta strain and poor vaccination rates in developed countries are a matter of concern for inhabitants.
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