NSW Police pull out all-stops to stem spreading of Covid-19 variant
09 Jul 2021, 04:14 GMT+10
SYDNEY, NSW, Australia - A major police operation involving more than 100 officers, including many from the Dog and Mounted Unit, Traffic and Highway Patrol Command, PolAir, Police Transport Command, and general duties officers from the South West Metropolitan Region, has swarmed across Sydney s southwest on Friday.
The major high-visibility operation across Sydney s southwest, which is scheduled to begin at 7:00am Friday morning, is aimed at policing compliance with all Covid-19 public health orders.
An outbreak of the Covid-19 variant Delta has gripped the Greater Sydney metropolitan area, with the city and surrounds, extending to the Blue Mountains and Wollongong in lockdown since a fortnight ago.
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The crackdown comes after Premier Berejiklian hinted on Wednesday that the Canterbury-Bankstown, Fairfield and Liverpool local government areas could be singled out and subjected to stricter COVID-19 restrictions. Some are suggesting the police response is discriminatory, given the strong presence of multicultural communities in that part of Sydney. There is absolutely NO logic for the direct targeting of Sydney s black and brown communities, NSW Greens MP David Shoebridge tweeted on Thursday afternoon.
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Ms Berejiklian again stressed that no one should be visiting others households, except for essential care. The only exception is if you are receiving care by one person, dropping off essential goods or for health reasons or exceptional circumstances, she said.
Current arrangements around childcare centres will remain, but the premier said she was unable to say what schools would look like after next week until she saw where the COVID-19 numbers were heading.
Mr Morrison expressed his strong support for the new restrictions issued for Greater Sydney. We will get through it together, he said. I know it is tiring, exasperating and frustrating. But we need to keep pushing through.
NSW Police Accused Of Double Standards Over Heavy Police Presence In Western Sydney
NSW Police Deputy Commissioner Mal Lanyon said their COVID crackdown isn t racist or discriminatory, despite the cultural and linguistically diverse population who live there.
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Residents of South West Sydney have woken up to increased police presence on Friday, as the State Government is accused of imposing double standards, and over-policing the multicultural area.
At least 100 officers have been deployed to ensure compliance to COVID restrictions, after a spike in positive cases, and breaches to the stay-at-home order. The number includes mounted police, highway patrol, helicopters, transport officers, and dog units, across Canterbury-Bankstown, Fairfield, and Liverpool local government areas.
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The federal government has rejected the idea there is a “double standard” in the heavy police presence around southwest Sydney to ensure residents comply with lockdown restrictions.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Defence Minister Peter Dutton both defended the police operation on Friday morning amid criticism the residents in the largely multicultural neighbourhoods were being treated differently to the way residents in more affluent Sydney suburbs of Bondi or Avalon had been.
At least 100 extra police officers have been deployed to southwest Sydney to ensure compliance with COVID-19 health orders.
The police response includes additional general duties officers as well as mounted police, the dog squad and PolAir surveillance.