Police in the Australian cities of Melbourne and Sydney have clashed with thousands of people protesting against COVID-19 lockdowns.
In Melbourne, mounted officers used pepper spray when elements of a 4,000-strong rally broke through police lines.
Police arrested 218 people, and at least seven officers were injured.
In Sydney, where lockdown measures have been extended for another month, more than 1,000 officers dispersed protests.
It came as the state of New South Wales of which Sydney is the capital, recorded 825 new locally acquired cases, the highest number for any Australian territory in a 24-hour period.
In Brisbane, the capital of Queensland, more than 2,000 protesters gathered before holding a largely peaceful march.
Police in the state of Victoria condemned the violence that broke out in Melbourne.
All those arrested face fines of A$5,452 for breaching COVID-19 regulations.
Three people were also charged with assaulting the Police.
Stay-at-home orders were extended across Victoria in a bid to contain a widening outbreak of COVID-19 cases.
The protests in Sydney were smaller, with about 250 people taking part.
Sydney residents have been under stay-at-home orders since late June.
However, infections have more than doubled in the past week.
Australia has been widely praised for its pandemic response and has recorded 978 deaths, fewer than many nations. But the emergence of the Delta variant in early June triggered a surge of infections.
[Source: BBC]
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