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Vaccination centers have been told to be on high alert or to be closed temporarily after being identified as potential targets in the Australian city.
Police in Melbourne, Australia’s second-largest city, are preparing for the fourth day of lockdown protests after more than 200 arrests a day earlier, as cases of COVID-19 in Victoria state have hit a daily record.
Vaccination centers were declared on high alert Thursday after being identified as potential targets by protesters, who are also angry with the state’s vaccination mandate, according to the Herald Sun newspaper.
The Age newspaper reported that some of the vaccination centers had been ordered to close until next Monday due to threats from protesters.
At a press conference Thursday, Victoria Prime Minister Daniel Andrews praised the police for handling the protesters the day before.
Hundreds of people have taken to the streets in the city of five million people since authorities earlier this week ordered construction sites to be closed for two weeks and made vaccines mandatory for construction workers to limit the spread virus.
Police used pepper spray and foam baton rounds on Wednesday to disperse protesters who gathered at the Shrine of Remembrance war memorial, prompting veteran groups and some politicians to denounce the use of the site as a rallying point.
“It has dishonored the Australians who have made the ultimate sacrifice and I hope all those who have engaged in this shameful behavior should be ashamed,” Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Thursday from Washington, DC, where he is visiting.
As authorities brace for more protests, Victoria has reported 766 new locally acquired cases, surpassing the previous pandemic daily record of 725 on August 5 last year. He also reported that four other people had died from the coronavirus.
In neighboring New South Wales (NSW), at least 1,063 cases were reported Thursday, with six more deaths according to The Sydney Morning Herald newspaper. A new COVID-19 cluster has also been reported at a North Sydney hospital.
Amid the continuing rise in cases, NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard said the state was “doing a really good job” in its vaccination efforts.
The percentage of people aged 16 and over who have received their first dose has already reached 83.6%, with 55.5% fully vaccinated.
“It’s quite remarkable and I want to thank everyone who comes out and doing their part for the community and for themselves and get vaccinated,” Hazzard told the newspaper.
About 45 percent are fully immunized in Victoria.
Australia is battling a third wave of infections from an outbreak of the Delta variant in Sydney and Melbourne, as well as its capital Canberra, forcing nearly half of the country’s 25 million people to strict restrictions on home stay.
Authorities have promised to ease lockdown rules once 70% of adults are fully vaccinated, which is expected next month.
Some 60,000 cases have been recorded since mid-June, when the first Delta case was detected in Sydney. The total death toll is just under 1,200, but still lower than many other wealthy countries.
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