Thousands protest in Australia’s Melbourne over Covid-19 laws

Sydney, Australia, Dec 4 (EFE) – Thousands of people demonstrated peacefully on Saturday in front of the Victoria state Parliament in the Australian city of Melbourne to demand the withdrawal of laws against the Covid-19 pandemic.

Melbourne, the city with the most number of days under strict lockdown, overcame its last wave of infections from the virus in October and seeks to recover normalcy amid laws that penalize people who do not get vaccinated against Covid-19.

The state legislature of Victoria approved this week a series of measures seeking to replace the state of emergency, effective from March 2020 and expiring on Dec.15, allowing the regional government to implement restrictions in the fight against the pandemic.

Among the measures promoted are restrictions on movement and entry into businesses for unvaccinated people and the obligation to vaccinate workers from a wide range of sectors.

The protesters, who have the support of a handful of ultra-conservative politicians, demand the removal of all restrictions in the state, where more than 91 percent of the approximately five million inhabitants are vaccinated with both doses.

While, in the state of New South Wales, whose capital is Sydney, health authorities are closely monitoring the situation following the detection of 13 cases of the omicron variant, including at least one person from local transmission.

Earlier this week, following the detection of fresh cases, the Australian authorities delayed the partial opening of borders to vaccinated qualified workers and foreign students until Dec.15. EFE

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