Corona-pandemic
Melbourne (AP) – In the Australian metropolis of Melbourne, hundreds of people protested for the third day in a row against compulsory corona vaccination for employees in the construction industry and the lockdown in the region.
The demonstration on Wednesday focused on the “Shrine of Remembrance”, one of the largest war memorials in Down Under. The AAP news agency reported that heavily armed police surrounded the group. According to the TV channel 9News, the officials used tear gas and arrested around 200 demonstrators.
The region’s vice-premier, James Merlino, was appalled by the rallies. “I’m not even going to call it a protest because it’s not a protest. This is a criminal mob, ”he said. Participants would put health workers, themselves and the people of Victoria at risk. “What we’ve seen in the past two or three days is criminal behavior that in no way represents our great state.”
A group of war veterans tweeted it was inappropriate to hold a demo at the shrine. “This is a sacred place for Australians to remember those who fought and died for us,” it said. “It is not appropriate to use this holy place for protests.”
The regional government had recently ordered that all construction industry employees must be vaccinated against the virus. On Monday, authorities announced that the entire sector in the region would be closed for two weeks. On October 5, workers will then have to prove that they have received at least one dose of vaccine before they return to work.
The state in the east of the country has been in lockdown again for weeks – it is the sixth time since the pandemic began. Protests had already broken out in Melbourne over the weekend. Hundreds of participants were arrested. There were also demos against the strict corona measures at the weekend in other cities, including Sydney and Brisbane.
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210922-99-311369 / 3
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