Australia is reeling under a fresh bout of coronavirus outbreak as daily new cases are clocking a record high. On December 18, 2021, Australia’s most populous state, New South Wales, registered over 2,482 new COVID-19 cases, the highest since the start of the pandemic last year.
For the first time since the start of the pandemic, Australia has recorded more than 4,000 coronavirus cases in a single day. Besides NSW, Victoria state reported 1,504 new cases and Queensland state reported 31 new cases on Saturday, together topping Austalia’s previous high of 3,820 cases a day earlier.
The recent upsurge in coronavirus cases in Australia could be attributed to the relatively lower vaccination adoption rate along with the onset of the much more virulent and infectious ‘Omicron’ variant. The new peak followed the 2,213 cases reported in New South Wales state on Friday, which had topped the previous record set in September.
With cases soaring at an ominous pace and vaccination rates still not up to the desired mark, the Australian government and local administrations seemed to be sceptical in removing the restrictions that were imposed to curb the spiralling crisis. However, the prospect of continuing restrictions has met with another wave of protests by the restive Australian population, who had to continue to endure interminable rounds of strictures imposed by the government since the start of the pandemic in February last year.
Protests erupts as country registers record number of new COVID-19 caseloads
A large number of people across various cities in Australia have hit the streets against the government demanding that the restrictions be removed. Thousands of people have partaken in protests, carrying plagues, shouting slogans and expressing their disapproval at the continuing restrictions imposed by the government.
In #Australia, again massive protests against the restrictions. #COVID19 #Covid_19 #VaccinePassport #healthpass #Demonstrations #protests pic.twitter.com/9sY818BxV4
— Aleksander Onishchuk (@Brave_spirit81) December 18, 2021
In #Australia, again massive protests against the restrictions. #COVID19 #Covid_19 #VaccinePassport #healthpass #Demonstrations #protests pic.twitter.com/Ih71OuIbg3
— Aleksander Onishchuk (@Brave_spirit81) December 18, 2021
Protests and demonstrations against COVID-19 restrictions have become commonplace in Australia, with people thronging the streets in huge numbers to convey their displeasure to the local administration. For months now, people have participated in protests, which have often turned violent as law enforcement officials employed heavy-handed means to quell the protests.
Australia convulsed with waves of violent anti-restrictions protests and demonstrations
In September this year, Violence erupted in Melbourne and Sydney in Australia after thousands of anti-lockdown protesters took to the streets to protest against restrictions imposed by the government in the wake of COVID-19.
On the day when the state recorded 535 new cases and 1 death due to COVID-19, around 1,000 protesters defied the stay-in-home orders and gathered in the north-eastern suburbs of Richmond and Hawthorn to mark their opposition to the new set of restrictions enforced to tame the outbreak.
However, protests quickly turned violent as clashes broke out between demonstrators and law enforcement officials. Victoria Police on Saturday arrested 235 people and three officers were admitted to hospital following the violent skirmishes between the police and the anti-lockdown protesters in Melbourne’s inner city.
Videos of the protests showed protesters indulging in riotous behaviour, assaulting police officers and throwing objects, including plastic bottles, cones, at the officials deployed to control the demonstrations
