Australian officials have reportedly gone to extremes after only 210 new coronavirus cases were recorded in and around Sydney.
The New South Wales Government government sent police in helicopters "to buzz by people who are congregating and blare through bull horns a warning of fines to come if they don’t disperse. America, take note," Washington Times columnist Cheryl K. Chumley noted.
Has the world gone insane? Apparently so, as what is happening down under is part of a global phenomenon. See below.
The lockdown in Australia will continue at least until the end of August. It has spurred many thousands to demonstrate against what they see as tyrannical orders.
“The police closed train stations (in Sydney), banned taxis from dropping passengers off downtown and deployed 1,000 officers to set up check points and to disperse any groups,” Reuters noted.
Police also hovered in helicopters over beaches and parks "to catch the sneaky sons of you-know-what rebels who refused to, well, partake of the police state stupidity," Chumley wrote.
“Beachgoers sneaking out during Sydney’s Covid lockdown to soak up some winter sun have been sensationally lambasted by a hovering police helicopter,” The Daily Mail wrote. “Footage uploaded to TikTok shows officers in a chopper demanding sunbathers pack up and leave Gordon’s Bay … or be hit with fines for breaking stay-at-home orders.”
“Some commenters on the social media platform [TikTok] called the bizarre police measures ‘over the top’ and compared it to something that might be seen in North Korea,” The Daily Mail wrote.
From Reuters: “There were 210 locally acquired cases of COVID-19 reported in Sydney and vicinities that are under a weeks-longs trick lockdown while battling an outbreak of the highly infectious Delta variant. Saturday’s numbers bring the outbreak to 3,190 cases.”
Chumley noted: "Case counts mean nothing absent the all-important contextual observation of how many of those who tested positive actually suffered serious health impacts — or died — versus how many didn’t even know they were sick. And after a year-and-a-half-plus of collected coronavirus data, it’s clear: it’s that latter figure that dominates the spectrum of test positives. Most people don’t even know they have the virus until a test kit tells them they do — and even then, there were problems for months with the accuracy of these test kits. For this, more lockdowns?"
Chumley added: "Somebody cover Gavin Newsom’s eyes. Keep Gov. Andrew Cuomo off TikTok. And for God’s sake, give President Joe Biden an ice cream cone to distract him from the news. Americans don’t need the domestic coronavirus tyrants getting any ideas from the foreign coronavirus tyrants."
About bloody time Mate. https://t.co/ikv9Je29YV
— Sebastian Gorka DrG (@SebGorka) August 6, 2021
Meanwhile, protests continue to rage in Europe against ongoing rigid Covid lockdowns and the institution of vaccine passports.
In France, thousands demonstrated against a special “health pass” and marched through Paris and other French cities in recent days.
Some 3,000 security forces have been deployed around Paris in anticipation of more protests against the “health pass”, which will be required soon to enter restaurants and other places. The system — likened to vaccine passports — goes into effect on Aug. 9.
“I think that we mustn’t be told what to do,” 37-year-old nurse Hager Ameur, who resigned from her job, told The Associated Press, noting that French medical workers during the first wave of Covid were mistreated. “And now suddenly we’re told that if we don’t get vaccinated, it is our fault that people are contaminated. I think it is sickening.”
A teacher protesting in Paris told The Guardian that the health pass policy is creating segregation in France: “We’re creating a segregated society, and I think it is unbelievable to be doing this in the country of human rights. So I took to the streets; I have never protested before in my life … I think our freedom is in danger.”
In Italy, thousands of anti-vaccine-pass demonstrators marched in cities, including Rome, Milan, and Naples. Milan demonstrators stopped outside of the city’s courthouse chanting “Truth!” “Shame!” and “Liberty!” In Rome, they marched behind a banner reading “Resistance.”
Italian authorities have also approved the implementation of a health pass to enter bars, restaurants, and other venues. Critics of the measure argue that it’s draconian and infringes on basic personal liberties.
In Switzerland, more than 4,000 people gathered in Lucerne to demonstrate against vaccine restrictions, according to local media reports.
In Germany, following the Berlin government's introduction of vaccine passports, thousands hit the streets to protest what they say is a tyrannical policy that strips basic human rights.
"Footage from the protests shows how far thuggish, bootlicking cops are willing to go to bolster the regime," noted one observer who said footage from the scene of anti-lockdown protests in Germany show police brutalizing seniors and children.
"Anyone in Germany who is against the Orwellian anti-coronavirus measures has become an enemy of the state," the observer noted.
Germany has responded to the protests by banning them.
Summit News reported that authorities in Germany have indicated that unvaccinated people could be banned from cinemas and restaurants and that those who have taken the jab will have “more freedom.”
Chancellor Angela Merkel’s chief of staff Helge Braun stated that unvaccinated people, even if they test negative for Covid, would not be allowed to go to venues like restaurants, cinemas, or stadiums, because “the risk to everyone else is too high.”
Police shove elderly people to your ground to protect their health. Welcome to Berlin. pic.twitter.com/Jlvj3DBIF7
— Ian Miles Cheong @ stillgray.substack.com (@stillgray) August 1, 2021
Berlin, this cop is hitting a little boy in the head for worrying about his mom. 🤬🤯 pic.twitter.com/3RQNKwzzbu
— Willow (@Willow__Bella) August 1, 2021
Thousands of anti-lockdown demonstrators defied a court-ordered protest ban on Sunday and gathered illegally in the streets of Berlin, resulting in scuffles with police. https://t.co/3mcJq3NlDY
— The Local Germany (@TheLocalGermany) August 2, 2021
Free Press International
