Coronavirus | Australia's anti-lockdown protests continue in Melbourne

A lone passenger sits on a mostly empty city centre street on the first day of lockdown as the state of Victoria looks to curb the spread of a coronavirus disease COVID - 19 outbreak in Melbourne, Australia, July 16, 2021. SYDNEY, Sept 23 Reuters - Police in Victoria's second-largest city of Melbourne searched for a fourth day of anti-lockdown protests on Thursday after more than 200 arrests a day earlier, while COVID - 19 cases hit a daily record in the state of Australia.

Hundreds of protesters have taken to the streets in the city of 5 million since earlier this week officials ordered a two-week closure of building sites and made vaccines mandatory for construction workers to limit the spread of the virus.

On Wednesday, police used capsicum spray and foam baton rounds to disperse protesters who gathered at a memorial honoring their war service, prompting veterans groups and some politicians to speak out against using the shrine as a rally point. It dishonoured those Australians who have made the ultimate sacrifice and I would hope any and all who were involved in that disgraceful behaviour should be ashamed, said Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Thursday in Washington D.C.

As authorities brace for more protests, Victoria reported 766 new local cases, topping its original pandemic first daily high of 725 hit on Aug. 5th, 2020, and four new deaths. It reported 628 cases Wednesday.

Australia is fighting a third wave of infections from an outbreak of Delta variant in its two biggest cities, Sydney and Melbourne, and its capital Canberra, forcing nearly half the nation's 25 million people into strict stay-at-home restrictions.

Officials promised to ease lockdown rules once 70% of adults are fully vaccinated, which is expected next month. Some 45% of the people over 16 are fully vaccinated in Australia and about 55.5% in New South Wales.

Australia's total infections have topped 90,000, with some 60,000 recorded since mid-June when the first Delta case was detected in Sydney. Deaths are significantly lower than 1,200, but still lower than in many other comparable countries.