Protesters in Melbourne defied coronavirus lockdown for a second weekend on Sunday. The city has been under hard lockdown for last six weeks. The protests against the lockdown resulted in 74 arrests and at least 175 infringement notices for breaching public health orders. Melbourne is coronavirus hotspot. Number of new infections has risen to 41.

A riot squad marched through fruit and vegetable stalls at the city’s landmark, the Queen Victoria market, before the scuffling with protesters erupted, with some people throwing fruit at the police, television footage showed.

Victoria Police said in a statement that there were between 200 and 250 people involved in the protests, but there were no immediately known injuries to the police.

“It was extremely disappointing to see people not just protesting but putting the lives of other Victorians at risk despite all the warnings,” the police said in an e-mailed statement.

Australian state of Victoria, the capital of which is Melbourne, accounts for about 75 per cent of Australia’s more than 26,609 coronavirus cases.

The state accounts for more than 90 per cent of the total deaths. The death toll is currently at 810.

The city will remain under hard lockdown, but the amount of time people will be able to spend outside will double to two hours per day and the overnight curfew will be shortened by an hour as of Monday.

Protests in New Zealand:

Anti-restriction protests were also witnessed in New Zealand where the government has been able to stop the community transmission stage. People rallied in Auckland against social distancing restrictions in effect.

On Saturday, television footage showed tightly packed crowds, with many people not wearing masks, with estimates of the attendance varying in reports between a thousand and a few thousand people.