As the Delta variant coronavirus spreads across Australia, officials in Sydney have prolonged the lockdown until September 30. It was scheduled to be removed later this month.

According to the New York Times, Daniel Michael Andrews the Prime Minister of Victoria, where Melbourne is, prolonged the state-wide lockdown last Saturday after new cases of coronavirus were discovered. Since early August, Melbourne has been closed.

Later that day, around 4,000 people demonstrated against the COVID restrictions, and there were clashes with the police. It was the first time authorities employed a range of non-lethal options, including pellets and pepper spray, to disperse demonstrators in Melbourne, according to police.

Since the outbreak began in mid-June, Sydney has registered over 10,000 infections. The daily case count has risen from 400 to 600 in the last week.

The federal government made immunizations available to all Australians aged 16 and up last week. According to the New York Times, 23 percent of the population has received all of their vaccinations.