Australia's Victoria state prepares for protests

Melbourne, Sep 23 Authorities in Australia's Victoria are preparing to confront and contain demonstrators on Thursday who have been rampaging through the state capital Melbourne's central business district.

Police made more than 200 arrests on Wednesday as throngs of protesters flooded through the streets bringing traffic to a grinding halt, reports Xinhua news agency.

Victorian Police Chief Commissioner Shane Patton, speaking to local media on Thursday, said riot police, armed with tear gas and rubber bullets, would continue to be out in force.

"We won't tolerate the city being held to ransom," Patton said, adding that "we would hope common sense is starting to prevail, and they are starting to reflect on their conduct and what the public sentiment is towards these people who are doing this".

The protests were initially orchestrated by construction workers opposed to new vaccine mandates placed on their industry.

Other people, including anti-vaccine and anti-lockdown demonstrators, quickly joined the fray in a defiant show of opposition to the state's handling of the pandemic.

Victorian health authorities recorded another 766 new local cases on Thursday, bringing the active cases to 6,666 which mostly clustered around Melbourne.