Australia Covid news live: Victoria records 11 new cases, men charged with allegedly striking horse at anti-lockdown protest
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Version 0 of 19. Follow all the latest updates, live We’ve heard a lot about the anti-lockdown protests that took place in Sydney and Melbourne yesterday, but thousands of protestors also took to the streets in Brisbane. Police estimate a whopping 7,500 people gathered in the Botanic Gardens yesterday and marched through the city as part of the ‘Freedom Rally’. Many of the protestors weren’t wearing masks. But under current restrictions, you aren’t required to wear a mask outside as long as physical distancing is maintained. A QLD police spokesperson told ABC that police “will bee reviewing all available footage of today’s events to determine if any clear breaches have occurred”. Two men have been charged after allegedly striking police horses during yesterday’s anti-lockdown protests in Sydney. A 33-year-old man has been charged with affray, join or continue in unlawful assembly, commit an act of cruelty upon an animal, and not comply with noticed direction re 7/8/9 – COVID-19. A 36-year-old man has been arrested and charged with assault officer in execution of duty, commit an act of cruelty upon an animal, not comply with noticed direction re 7/8/9 – COVID-19. Both men have been refused bail and will appear today at Parramatta local court. Victoria has recorded 11 new locally acquired Covid-19 cases, all of whom where in quarantine during their infectious period, according to the state’s health department. All cases are linked to the current outbreak. Good morning! It’s Justine Landis-Hanley here, bringing you the news today. To kick off, let’s recap the biggest stories from yesterday and a few overnight developments. NSW recorded 163 new cases yesterday, its highest daily case number of this outbreak. More than 3,500 anti-lockdown protesters flooded the streets of Sydney’s CBD and clashed with authorities yesterday. And more than 1,000 protesters also took to the streets of Melbourne’s CBD to protest the latest lockdowns. A NSW police strike force consisting of 22 detectives is working to identify the state’s anti-lockdown protesters. Police minister David Elliott says the strike force will examine CCTV footage from surrounding buildings, as well as social media footage that has been gathered overnight. So far, 57 people associated with the protest have been arrested, 34 of whom have been charged. More than 100 sites have been added to the list of exposure venues on the NSWhealth website overnight. In light of growing case numbers, the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (Atagi) now recommends that anyone over the age of 18 in greater Sydney should consider getting any available vaccine, including AstraZeneca. |