Thousands of protesters took to the streets in Melbourne, Australia, in a largely peaceful fashion to rally against local lockdown restrictions—a stark contrast to the situation in Sydney, where more than 1,500 police officers descended upon the central business district (CBD) and surrounding areas to quash what was believed to be a planned anti-lockdown protest.
Police in New South Wales, where Sydney is the capital, announced Saturday morning that public transport routes and ride shares to downtown Sydney would be blocked. Trains had to skip major train stations until 2 p.m. local time. Taxis and rideshare companies were threatened with fines of up to half a million dollars if they take people to central Sydney between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. local time.
