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Victoria has reported 41 new Covid-19 cases and seven more deaths, the latest figures supporting the state’s planned easing of lockdown restrictions.
Sunday’s statistics for the past 24 hours bring the death toll in the state to 723 and the national count to 810 since the start of the pandemic.
As parts of Victoria move towards easing restrictions, some tensions are emerging, including reports of more protest actions on Sunday and a dramatic vehicle stop north of Melbourne.
– Warning: video contains strong language
A woman is seen being pulled from the driver’s seat of a car by a police officer in images shared on Facebook on Saturday.
A masked Natalie Bonett refused to get out of her car after an argument with an officer about a phone charger in Wallan, about 60 kilometers north of the city.
The male officer can be heard asking for Ms. Bonnett’s name and address.
“The problem is that he is not telling me his name,” the officer is heard saying.
Ms. Bonett again refused to get out of the car.
“I don’t feel safe. You’re armed,” she said.
“You’re safe, don’t worry about it,” replied the officer.
The footage then shows the officer leaning toward the vehicle as Ms. Bonett protests, before she is forcibly removed.
“I am shaking, crying and in total disbelief that I was treated this way,” Ms. Bonett wrote about the event, recounting that she was arrested and handcuffed.
Police have been contacted for comment.
Prime Minister Daniel Andrews has said that as lockdown restrictions in regional areas ease, checkpoints on the roads could be stepped up to make sure Melbourne residents do not escape into the country.
“It can go to a new level to make sure that only those who absolutely need to travel to the country of Victoria do so,” he said.
Victoria’s two weeks of low infection rates have prompted Andrews to point to the possibility of regional Victoria jumping two steps out of the lockdown by the middle of next week.
This will mean, among other things, that regional residents will soon be able to go out for coffee or lunch.
Melburnites will also receive some relief starting Monday, with the reduction of daily curfew hours from 9:00 pm to 5:00 am and the granting of ‘domestic bubbles’, which provide company to those who live alone.
Small protests against the lockdown took place in Melbourne on Saturday and more are expected on Sunday.
Police arrested 14 people and fined at least 50 for violating health instructions.
The peaceful protesters in central Melbourne were outnumbered by the police.
