More than 700 people have indicated they will attend a "socially distanced protest" in Wollongong on Sunday in solidarity with Black Lives Matter rallies in the US.
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The protest, organised by the National Union of Students, will take place in the Crown Street Mall amphitheatre from 2pm.
It's one of several demonstrations around the country - including in Sydney and Melbourne on Saturday - in protest over the death of African American man George Floyd by Minneapolis police.
The 46-year-old died after a Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck for several minutes while he was handcuffed face down on the street.
On the Wollongong event's Facebook site, more than 720 have indicated they will attend.
What this protest has turned into is a flagrant disregard of the health rules. We can't afford to have exceptions for anyone.
Many more Illawarra residents have taken to social media to show their support for the Black Lives Matter movement, and in Bellambi, the words 'He couldn't breathe' have been graffitied on the noise barrier wall at the intersection of Bellambi Road and Memorial Drive as a stark reminder of the tragedy.
"We want to express our solidarity with protests for racial justice in the US and highlight the struggle for justice in Australia against indigenous deaths in custody," NUS president ethnocultural officer Vinil Kumar said.
"We are expecting up to 500 people. We are advising attendees to bring masks and sanitiser and will provide some at the rally itself. We are advising attendees to maintain safe distances and stay home if they are unwell or at higher risk to infection."
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has urged people not to break coronavirus social-distancing rules by attending protests this weekend.
Meantime the NSW Government and NSW Police sought to have the Black Lives Matter protest planned in Sydney deemed illegal by the Supreme Court due to the danger of a second wave of coronavirus if thousands attend.
Late on Friday night, police won that challenge with the Supreme Court prohibiting Sydney's weekend Black Lives Matter march to proceed.
Justice Desmond Fagan acknowledged he was balancing the recognised right of public assembly against health risks, but ultimately said a rally of even 5,000 people was "a very undesirable idea" given the current health advice.
As of Friday night, the Wollongong protest was going ahead.
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On Thursday South Coast police commander Superintendent Greg Moore said the region's police had been liaising with the organisers of the Wollongong protest and were "confident" it would be a safe and peaceful event.
"We support peaceful protest, and we've certainly had good contact with the organisers ... and are confident that it will go ahead in a peaceful manner," Supt Moore said.
"The police presence will be there to make sure everyone is safe (but) we don't anticipate any problems.
"... We support the right of free speech and freedom of assembly but certainly do ask people to do so peacefully and safely."
Illawarra Shoalhaven Local Health District public health director Curtis Gregory declined to comment on the protest itself, but urged everyone to "stay COVID safe" this long weekend.
"As director of public health, my role is to advise the community, no matter what they are doing this long weekend, to adhere to the measures that have been so successful in preventing the spread of COVD-19 - that is practise physical distancing and maintain good hand hygiene and cough etiquette," Mr Gregory said.
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said the Sydney protest initially proposed by Black Lives Matter organisers was far smaller than that which was now scheduled for Saturday.
"All of us have given up so much and worked so hard to make sure we get on top of the virus," she said.
"What this protest has turned into is a flagrant disregard of the health rules. We can't afford to have exceptions for anyone."
NSW Police say even if the Supreme Court allows Sydney's rally, there will be a limit of 500 people.
There were four new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in the 24 hours to 8pm on Thursday, taking the total number of cases in NSW is 3110. The new cases were all travellers in hotel quarantine.
In the Illawarra Shoalhaven Local Health District, there's been 117 confirmed cases.
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