Over 200 people have been arrested and six police officers hospitalised during an anti-lockdown protest in the Australian city of Melbourne.
Thousands of demonstrators clashed with officers on the streets of the Australian city earlier.
Footage posted online shows protesters throwing objects at police and letting off flares.
In a statement, Victoria Police said: “The behaviour seen by police was so hostile and aggressive that they were left with no choice but to use all tactics available to them."
It comes after it was announced Melbourne's lockdown would be extended across the entire state of Victoria to tackle rising COVID-19 infection rates.
New South Wales and Victoria have both seen high number of new COVID-19 cases in recent weeks, amid a dramatic surge in cases linked to the Delta variant.
On Saturday, NSW officials reported 825 new local cases, with another 61 reported in Victoria.
A strict lockdown was on Saturday extended to the rest of the state of Victoria due to the recent rise in cases.
People are being told to only leave home for reasons such as food shopping, exercise or essential work.
Premier Daniel Andrews said: "It’s not a decision we wanted to make after Victorians have sacrificed so much, but we have no other option.
"Cases need to be lower and vaccination rates need to be higher."
Parts of Melbourne and Sydney have also had curfews imposed in a bid to ensure people stay indoors.
Australia's vaccine rollout has proven slower than many other developed countries, with officials currently aiming to have 70% of people aged 16 or older vaccinated by early November.
Meanwhile, neighbouring New Zealand is also in the midst of a strict lockdown after the first community cases in six months were detected there.
Over 50 cases have now been reported, with lockdown measures to remain in place until at least Tuesday.
