Police launch major operation targeting Delta spread in south-west Sydney
NSW Police will launch a major operation on Friday targeting the spread of the Delta variant of COVID-19 in south-west Sydney, deploying at least 100 extra officers to enforce the stay-at-home order in response to breaches.
Marking an escalation of the state’s public health order enforcement, senior officers said the high-visibility effort involving mounted units was needed because breaches were persisting despite ongoing community engagement to inform people of their responsibilities.
The operation, which will also use traffic and highway patrol officers, dog units and police helicopters, will see the extra personnel sent to patrol the areas to ensure compliance and issue fines for breaches.
Three local government areas – Fairfield, Canterbury-Bankstown and Liverpool – have been highlighted by NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian and Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant as particular areas of concern this week with significant spreading of the virus between family members visiting each other in different households.
Of the 38 cases confirmed on Thursday, 21 were in south-west Sydney and the state government holds concerns about low testing rates in the area.
NSW Police Deputy Commissioner Mal Lanyon said police had been working hard to help people understand their obligations under public health orders and they would continue to try and educate the public, but he warned of increased enforcement.
“We have heard very clearly and very loudly the words of our Premier and Dr Chant in terms of the emerging areas of concern in southwestern Sydney,” Mr Lanyon said.
“As a result of those concerns, come 7am tomorrow morning, we will commence a dedicated police operation with at least 100 more police officers, entering the south-west metropolitan area to ensure compliance with public health orders.”
He said police had previously taken similar steps in other areas of Sydney in response to particular concerns about breaches.
Local community leaders have expressed dismay at the government’s rhetoric about the city’s south-west, which is less affluent than other areas and home to culturally and linguistically diverse communities.
Assistant Commissioner Tony Cooke, the commander overseeing police operations in south-west Sydney, said people should understand their responsibilities by now and police were continuing to liaise with community leaders.
“Our multicultural liaison officers have been deployed for weeks now across the community, sending the message. We have paraphernalia in 56 languages distributed through communities to … make sure that we all understand, to make sure that we know how to comply.”
Mr Cooke said the pandemic had been around for 18 months and urged members of the community “to take responsibility for themselves” and follow the public health orders.
“You don’t need that pair of shoes,” he said to people considering going shopping.
Greens senator Mehreen Faruqi said the operation targeting the south-west was a “terrible turn of events”.
“Over-policing multicultural communities is a recipe for disaster. The mounted police were never called into Avalon or Westfield Bondi,” she said.
Former race discrimination commissioner Tim Soutphommasane also expressed concern about the police announcement and said officers “officers must be proportionate in the use of their powers in south-west Sydney”.
The northern beaches faced a strict local lockdown in summer, policed on some occasions by mounted units. A large number of police, including mounted units, have also been deployed to the eastern beaches in recent weeks but a police source said south-west Sydney was a much larger area, explaining the need for a larger deployment.
Police Minister David Elliott said the especially contagious Delta strain was a “game changer” and strong action was needed.
Mr Lanyon said “this virus doesn’t discriminate and neither does NSW Police”.
The government had warned that further action might be taken in response to growing concerns about the growing spread of the Delta strain in the south-west.
Police said the escalation was necessary to get ahead of the curve on the spread of the virus as NSW recorded the highest number of new cases in 14 months.
The announcement of the operation comes after Ms Berejiklian warned case numbers were too high and people needed to adhere to the stay-at-home order.
“I want to say in the most strongest possible terms: please, please avoid contact with households, with other households. Please avoid visiting family and friends,” Ms Berejiklian said on Thursday morning.
She said visits to people on compassionate grounds should only be for the purpose of providing care to an isolated person or dropping off essentials.
“We are not talking about visiting extended family members, we’re not talking visiting friends. Data over the last few days shows this is how the virus is spreading.”
Mr Cooke said people considering visiting family members or friends should ask themselves if it was necessary and “most often the answer can be no”.
Source: smh.com.au
