Anti-lockdown protestors flood Melbourne after VIC Premier announcement
"Chaos" unfolded in Melbourne as Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews announced that there would be a fifth five-day snap lockdown to stop the spread of the Delta variant of COVID-19.
“We’ve got to do this, otherwise it will get away with us and we, as more than any other part of our nation know, we don’t want this getting away from us and being locked down for months,” Mr Andrews said.
“We want to deal with this with a short, sharp, lockdown, decisive action, not waiting, not dawdling, now is our time.”
Victoria currently has 18 cases, with at least 6,500 residents being forced into isolation as close contacts.
Protestors filled the Melbourne CBD at 7pm, just hours before the midnight lockdown would be enforced, with signs saying "lockdown kills" and many protestors not wearing a face mask.
7 News reporter Estelle Griepink tweeted about the protests, saying that they were chanting "Sack Dan Andrews".
“We’ve spoken to plenty of people today who say they are frustrated but understand these measures are necessary,” Griepink said.
Protestors gathered on the steps of Flinders St chanting sack Dan Andrews. Some commuters walking past shaking their heads @7NewsMelbourne pic.twitter.com/Maj415bS2A
— Estelle Griepink (@EstelleGriepink) July 15, 2021
Protestors were just "regular everyday people who have had enough".
“I’ve got friends who are really frustrated and on the verge of their businesses going a really bad way.
“As it stands at the moment so many people have lost their businesses, their homes, their families ripped apart.
“We pay the price.”
Victorian Police told news.com.au that there were no arrests or any fines issued due to the protests.
Andrews stands by his decision for the snap lockdown, saying the state must "go hard" to prevent the spread.
“You only get one chance to go hard and go fast. If you wait, if you hesitate, if you doubt, then you will always be looking back wishing you had done more earlier,” he said.
“I am not prepared to avoid a five-day lockdown now only to find ourselves in a five-week or a five-month lockdown.
“That is why we are making this very difficult decision and why I know Victorians will, despite the pain and difficulty of this, know and understand there is no option.”