Sydney (AFP)

Thousands of people demonstrated in Australia and France on Saturday against health measures aimed at stemming the resumption of the Covid-19 epidemic due to the virulent Delta variant, which is forcing many countries to tighten restrictions.

In Sydney, clashes took place between police on horseback and protesters who threw flowerpots and bottles at them, while residents of the city of five million people are ordered to stay at home for a month.

And in Melbourne, local media reported that thousands took to the streets after rallying outside the Victoria state parliament.

The protesters, who were not wearing masks, broke rules on non-essential travel and public gatherings issued by the authorities, the latter having hinted that the measures could apply until October.

Signs read "Wake up Australia", slogans echoing messages seen at similar protests overseas.

“It's pretty clear that Sydney is not safe from idiots,” he added.

He said he expected the rally to spike Covid cases and urged those present to get tested and self-isolate.

- Vietnam borders -

At the antipodes, thousands of people also demonstrated on Saturday in France, especially in Paris and Marseille, against the extension of the health pass and compulsory vaccination for certain professions, including nursing staff.

This is the second day of mobilization around the slogans "For freedom" and "Against the health dictatorship".

This movement comes as the French say they are overwhelmingly in favor of the decision taken on July 12 by President Emmanuel Macron to make vaccination compulsory for caregivers and other professions, on pain of sanctions.

The extension of the health pass (complete vaccination or recent negative test) to most public places also receives a majority of approvals, according to a survey published the day after these announcements.

All over the planet, health restrictions are multiplying in order to limit the impact of the dizzying spread of the Delta variant of the coronavirus on hospital services.

The pandemic has already killed more than 4.1 million people since the end of 2019.

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Vietnam placed the eight million inhabitants of its capital Hanoi in lockdown on Saturday in an attempt to contain the surge in Covid cases, which has already forced a third of the country's population to stay at home.

Authorities reported more than 7,000 new cases on Friday, the third record of infections in a day broken in a week.

- Lebanon is suffering -

Germany, Europe's largest economy, itself struggling with an acceleration in contamination, has decided to tighten restrictions on travel to Spain, including the Balearic Islands and the Canaries, in the face of a resurgence of Covid cases in this destination touristic.

For its part, Spain will impose a ten-day quarantine on travelers from Argentina, Colombia, Bolivia and Namibia from July 27, the government announced on Saturday.

A measure prompted by the increase in cases in the Latin America and Caribbean region, the most bereaved in the world by the pandemic, which on Saturday exceeded the threshold of 40 million declared cases of Covid-19 for more than 1.3 million deaths .

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The situation is also worrying in Lebanon, where the economic collapse and power shortages are making hospitals more vulnerable.

"All hospitals (...) are now less prepared than they were at the time of the wave at the beginning of the year," Firass Abiad, director of the Rafic University Hospital, told AFP. Hariri, the largest public hospital in the country.

burx-fio / sg

© 2021 AFP