NSW reports 210 locally transmitted COVID cases, police form barriers in Sydney to prevent rallies

On Saturday, police blocked off downtown Sydney with multiple checkpoints to thwart a planned anti-lockdown rally, New South Wales, Australia's most populated state, reported 210 locally acquired cases of COVID-19.

While battling an epidemic of the extremely infectious Delta variant, Sydney and its environs have been under a weeks-long severe lockdown that will persist at least until the end of August. The latest figures increase the total number of patients in the outbreak to 3,190.

Around 1,000 police officers have been stationed throughout Sydney to prevent an unlawful protest against the lockdown, and police have issued prohibition letters to taxi and rideshare firms prohibiting them from transporting individuals to demonstrations, according to the NSW police.

Last weekend's protests ended in several arrests and skirmishes with police.

However, according to a late-July poll conducted by the Sydney-based market research firm Utting Research, only 7% of respondents support the protests. One of the most frequently mentioned reasons for Australia's effectiveness in managing the epidemic has been adherence to public health regulations.

According to NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard, there are 198 individuals in hospital in Sydney, 53 of who are in intensive care and 27 of whom require ventilation. One fatality was also reported, bringing the total number of deaths in the outbreak to fourteen.

On Saturday, parts of the neighboring state of Queensland will go into a three-day lockdown after the state reported six new Delta-type coronavirus cases, putting a number of football, rugby, and other sporting events in jeopardy.

"We have seen from the experience in other states that the only way to beat the Delta strain is to move quickly, to be fast, and to be strong," said the state's Deputy Premier Steven Miles. "That is now the nationally agreed approach."

Despite experiencing surges in infections, particularly of the Delta strain, Australia has mostly kept the epidemic under control, with little over 34,000 cases and 924 deaths.