Melbourne testing clinic shut down over fears anti-vaxxers will harass hordes of hopeful travellers

A Melbourne testing clinic has been shut down over fears anti-vaxxers will disrupt the weary crowds who have lined up in the heat for hours to get swabbed. 

Dozens of residents will be forced to find another place to get a Covid test after the 4Ctye Pathology clinic on Bourke Street was abruptly closed. 

The testing site was shut down over fears protesters would descend on the city streets and harass those waiting patiently in line for a swab. 

Melburnians lining up across the city are looking at a long wait as thousands planning to spend Christmas interstate cause a surge in testing demand.  

Dozens of residents will be forced to find another place to get a Covid test after the 4Ctye Pathology clinic on Bourke Street was abruptly closed (pictured, queues in Melbourne)

Anti-vaxxer demonstrators gathered at the intersection of Bourke Street and Spring Street at 12pm on Saturday, as the mercury soared to 34C. 

Victoria Police lined the steps of parliament house and controlled traffic as brightly coloured demonstrators spilled onto the road. 

Testing numbers hit an all-time high in Victoria on Saturday, with 88,000 tests administered across the state and 137,000 conducted in NSW. 

Residents are required to return a negative Covid test to get the green light to travel interstate, with some testing sites warning of a three-hour wait. 

There are over 265 clinics across the state currently providing tests, but 100 are closed on Sunday’s while others close early on the weekends. 

The heat has also added pressure to those standing in queues, as both Sydney and Melbourne endure scorching temperatures and gusts of hot wind. 

One woman told the Herald Sun she left a drive-through clinic in Werrribee on Saturday morning disappointed, after the site was closed due to the heat. 

‘I understand there may be health and safety issues but we are going into summer. How on earth are we going to get tested on days hotter than this?’ she said. 

‘We are now isolating and we will go back first thing in the morning.’

The testing site was shut down over fears protesters would descend on the city streets and harass those waiting patiently in line for a swab (pictured, protesters rally on Saturday)

Residents are required to return a negative Covid test to get the green light to travel interstate, with some testing sites warning of a three-hour wait (pictured, long lines in Sydney)

Calls for clinics to open earlier have been met with sympathy from acting premier James Merlino who announced some sites would open from 7am. 

‘We’ve been making measures to extend the hours or make the hours more usable to people,’ he said. 

‘I know there are particular sites where the wait is long but on average, the wait is 45 minutes to an hour or so. I ask people to be patient. 

‘We’re expanding it, we’re extending it, as much as we can.’

Swarms of people are expected to return to testing sites throughout the week during the final countdown to Christmas, a day that could be overshadowed by Omicron. 

Victoria recorded 1,240 new local cases of Covid-19 and four deaths on Sunday as the mutant variant threatens to run rampant.  

While Victoria has also seen a consistent surge in new infections over the past week, case numbers dropped by about 200 on Sunday to 1,240.

Four people died overnight, and there are 392 people in hospital – 41 of whom are on ventilators. There are now two dozen Omicron cases across the state. 

In sentiments similar to those of NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet, Mr Merlino emphasised hospitalisations and ICU numbers were more important than cases. 

Calls for clinics to open earlier have been met with sympathy from acting premier James Merlino who announced some sites would open from 7am (pictured, a truck driver gets tested)

Victoria recorded 1,240 new local cases of Covid-19 and four deaths on Sunday as the mutant variant threatens to run rampant (pictured, protesters in Melbourne on Saturday)

‘That’s the critical thing that we that we look at every single day but obviously we’ve got a new variant, and it is likely to become the dominant variant across the globe,’ the acting premier told reporters on Sunday. 

‘We’re seeing a big increase in NSW so it’s something that we are learning more about every day in terms of its impact and the effectiveness of vaccines,’ he said.  

A Victorian Government spokesperson said there were no plans to impose new capacity limits or cancel major events such as the Australian Open or the Boxing Day Test, despite the spike in new cases. 

NSW recorded 2,556 new infections on Sunday as health authorities confirm 313 people are infected with the Omicron variant across the state. 

Both states are set to lift the 72-hour isolation rules for international arrivals from December 21 – less than a month after authorities first imposed the rule.