Thousands take to the streets of Australia over COVID-19 measures, jabs Coronavirus pandemic News

Thousands took to the streets of Australia on Saturday in protest of COVID-19 vaccine orders as smaller crowds gathered to support measures that have made the country one of the most inoculated in the world.

Nearly 85 of Australians over the age of 16 have been vaccinated against coronavirus since 19 November. Although nationwide vaccinations are voluntary, states and territories have requested vaccines for many professions and banned people without vaccinations from eating dinners and concerts.

Shouting “freedom” and carrying placards calling for “fighting tyranny” and proclaiming the importance of “undead lives”, thousands of vaccine protesters marched through the streets of central Melbourne, Australia’s second largest city, while many families were enjoying themselves. Christmas showcases in the city’s major department stores.

There were also protests in Sydney, Brisbane and Perth, where police watched the rallies up close and did not report any immediate misconduct.

Australian journalist Dana Morse told Al Jazeera that Melbourne had suffered the longest blockade in the world.

“There is concern among parts of the community about some legislation to manage the pandemic that the state government is trying to get through the upper house of parliament,” said Morse, who lives in Melbourne.

“This bill has been stopped, but people are worried about the amount of power the state government will have if the bill is passed.”

People are also protesting against the “no jab no job” laws, which means that people who are not currently vaccinated will not be able to continue working, he added.

Vaccine demonstrations have been going on in Australia for weeks, occasionally becoming violent and attracting loose groups of citizens, as well as supporters of conspiracy theories and conspiracy. far right.

The movement against vaccinations, however, remains small, as polls show nationwide opposition in a single figure.

“We are generally looking at a country that believes in the safety and effectiveness of vaccines when it comes to treating COVID-19,” Morse said.

“Even as you look at the protests of ten thousand people as we see them on the streets of Melbourne today – it is a city of five million people – we are still talking about a small but very prosperous part of the population,” he said, referring to protesters against the coups.

A rally against a hundred people was held in Melbourne, organized by the Campaign Against Racism and Fascism, under the slogan “Don’t scab, get the jab”.

Nahui Jimenez, one of the organizers of the anti-fascist demonstrations, said the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) was a “message of solidarity” with the country’s health workers.

“Most people support these health measures, which have really helped millions of people not get COVID,” he said.

The head of the Australian Open, the first Grand Slam tennis tournament of the year and one of Australia’s biggest sporting events, said on Saturday that all players will need to be vaccinated to compete in the event held in Melbourne.

On Saturday, there were 1,166 new COVID-19 cases in the state of Victoria, where Melbourne is the capital. Five other people were killed. The most populous state in New South Wales, where almost 92% of people are fully vaccinated, has reported 182 new cases.

Despite the Delta outbreaks that caused the blockade in Sydney and Melbourne for months, Australia has had only 760 cases and 7.5 deaths per 100,000 people, much lower than many other developed nations, according to the World Health Organization. The UK, for example, has had more than 14,000 cases and 211 deaths per 100,000 people.

The New Zealand district, which is learning to live with coronavirus, has reported 172 new cases through high vaccination rates. On Friday, they fully immersed 83 percent of the Pacific nation’s population.