Vaccine protesters given eviction deadline
Andrew Brown |
The ACT has recorded 489 new cases of COVID-19, as anti-vaccination protesters in the capital have been given marching orders to leave a campground in Canberra’s north.
Of the new cases, 303 were from PCR tests while there were 186 positive rapid antigen tests.
Hospitalisations from the virus have continued to decrease, with 50 patients now in hospital for COVID-19.
Three of the patients are in intensive care, while one is on a ventilator.
It comes as anti-vaccination protesters have been ordered to leave a Canberra campground where they have been staying for more than a week while they have been carrying out demonstrations across the city.
Protesters have been given until Sunday to clear the campgrounds, with work set to begin from next week to set up the Royal Canberra Show, which will be held on the site at the end of the month.
The group of protesters have been on the campground since they were booted off the lawns of the National Library last week by police.
The large number of protesters has resulted in the cancellation of the weekly Capital Region Farmers Market, which is held nearby.
Organisers said on Friday the markets were cancelled due to safety concerns as well as logistics issues for stallholders.
Police are predicting protest numbers to swell to up to 4000 on Saturday before a planned march to Parliament House later in the day.
Authorities are also preparing for the possibility the protesters will target and disrupt a “Superhero Day” being held at a mass vaccination site at the Australian Institute of Sport, which is aimed at boosting child vaccination rates.
The latest vaccination figures have shown 75.1 per cent of children aged five to 11 years old in Canberra have received their first dose, while 58.9 per cent of those 16 and over have had their booster.
AAP
