Protests in the time of coronavirus continue to divide opinion across Australia and the globe. Thousands attended Black Lives Matters protests across the nation at the weekend and protests in the US have entered the third week.
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Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews said he wasn't able to stop the protests because "you can't lock 10,000 people up". Mr Andrews acknowledged Victoria's poor record on indigenous incarceration and deaths in custody but is concerned that social distancing rules were not followed. "A worthy cause but a fundamentally irresponsible thing to do, we won't know the results of that for another two weeks," Mr Andrews said. He urged those who attended to be tested if they develop coronavirus symptoms. Victoria reported no new cases today.
In South Australia, a second protest planned for this weekend will not be given an exemption from COVID-19 restrictions and anyone attending runs the risk of being fined or arrested. This is despite the state allowing 2000 people to attend this weekend's AFL derby in Adelaide as the competition restarts.
Federal health authorities have argued that crowds in stadiums are easier to control for coronavirus restrictions that protesters as they look to open NRL games up to restricted crowds. "You can be a little more controlled in a stadium than you can in a protest," Federal deputy chief medical officer Dr Nick Coatsworth said. The NSW state government has already ticked off on corporate boxes for NRL games from this weekend.
Western Australian Premier Mark McGowan has also urged people not to attend a Black Lives Matter protest in Perth this weekend. "It is an important international issue ... but I ask people to do the right thing," Mr McGowan said.
US President Donald Trump has used the protests to justify his plan to hold election rallies. The president and his campaign team have been vocal about not being able to hold his rallies which were a key part of his election success in 2016.
Only time will tell if the protests in Australia will cause a spike but a far bigger issue is the threat from overseas. While Australia's borders are closed there is a risk that cases could slip in from returning travellers. The ACT has had its first case for a month after a foreign diplomat was granted a quarantine exemption on his return to Sydney from overseas. He drove from Sydney Airport back to his home in Canberra. Authorities believe there is a low risk to the community.
The threat from overseas continues to grow as cases continue to rise. More than 136,000 new cases were reported worldwide on Sunday, the most in a single day so far. Nearly 75 per cent of them were reported from 10 countries, mostly in the Americas and South Asia.
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