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NSW Police set up strike force to find anti-lockdown protesters, 57 charged

NSW Police have charged 57 people and issued more than 90 infringement notices after anti-lockdown protestors gathered in their thousands in Sydney's CBD.

Minister for Police and Emergency Services David Elliott said further charges were expected, as police launch a new strike force to identify "as many people as possible" involved in the protest activity and to track down 3500 "very selfish boofheads". He also said anyone who attended the protest to get tested for COVID-19.

Videos of the protests from members of the public will form part of investigation.

READ MORE: Chaotic scenes as thousands gather for anti-lockdown protests

Mr Elliott said police hoped to identify "as many people as possible" involved in today's protest activity, which contradicted current public health orders.

Sydney anti-lockdown protest July 24

Deputy Commissioner Mal Lanyon has condemned the actions of anti-lockdown protestors, after reports police were assaulted.

"Anyone who thinks they can get away with the types of actions we saw will be chased by the law, to the full extent of the law," he said.

READ MORE: 'Unfortunately cases continue to rise': New high of 163 local COVID-19 infections recorded in NSW

Mr Lanyon said initial reports suggested police officers had not been significantly injured, but based on the vision he had seen, this was the result of luck.

Sydney lockdown protests

Mr Elliott appealed to participants of the anti-lockdown protests to get tested for COVID-19 and self-isolate "until we know your family and friends are going to be safe".

READ MORE: 'More people probably die of peanuts': GP tells young people to get AstraZeneca vaccine

"You don't have to be an epidemiologist to work out if this is a super spreader event, we can forget about lifting restrictions next week," he said.

headline

Adults in Sydney should strongly consider any available COVID vaccine, says ATAGI

Anyone aged 18 or over in Greater Sydney "should strongly consider getting vaccinated with any available vaccine", including AstraZeneca, to protect themselves against coronavirus, the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI) has recommended in response to the COVID-19 outbreak in New South Wales.

The advice comes after NSW recorded 163 local cases of COVID-19, which is a new daily record for the state.

READ MORE: Chaotic scenes as thousands gather for lockdown protests despite lockdown

Of those, 66 were household contacts and 45 were infectious in the community.

ATAGI has previously recommended Pfizer as the vaccine of choice for anyone under 60 years of age because of the extremely small risk of a blood clot disorder which is more likely to occur in younger people.

However, today's statement is a change in direction in response to the growing crisis in Sydney.

"All individuals aged 18 years and above in greater Sydney, including adults under 60 years of age, should strongly consider getting vaccinated with any available vaccine, including COVID-19 vaccine AstraZeneca," ATAGI said in a statement.

"This is on the basis of the increasing risk of COVID-19 and ongoing constraints of Comirnaty (Pfizer) supplies.

READ MORE: 'All our allocation is allocated': Victoria will not send vaccines to NSW as state records 12 new cases

"In addition, people in areas where outbreaks are occurring can receive the second dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine four to eight weeks after the first dose, rather than the usual 12 weeks, to bring forward optimal protection."

ATAGI has also reaffirmed its previous advice that in a large outbreak, the benefits of the COVID-19 vaccine AstraZeneca are greater than the risk of rare side effects for all age groups.