'Singled out': Residents react to 'heavy-handed' police crackdown
Police were out in full force as an operation deploying over 100 extra police officers to the suburbs of southwest Sydney commenced.
On Thursday, NSW Police announced the operation in response to a growing number of Covid cases being identified in Sydney's southwest.
NSW recorded 44 new cases in the 24 hours to 8pm on Thursday, 29 of which were active in the community for some or all of their infectious period.
The number of close contacts isolating across NSW also doubled in 24 hours, from 7000 to 14,000.
Police response 'unfair', residents claim
The decision to have an elevated police presence has been met with backlash by many residents and observers, who claim the response in the southwest is stronger than what has been seen in the eastern suburbs.
Epidemiologist Professor Mary-Louise McLaws told the ABC on Thursday the "dedicated police operation" was "fairly heavy-handed".
Speaking to the ABC on Friday, the CEO of Arab Council Australia, Randa Kattan, questioned why the police would be targeting southwest Sydney, but not other areas.
"Why is there more police on the ground than there was in any other area? As I mentioned, you know, people generally follow the rules and we know very well that people are following the rules," she said.
She said the extra police presence was "excessive" and "disturbing" to some in the community.
Just watching news coverage of near deserted western Sydney streets. Thank heavens for such responsible behaviour by the citizens of those suburbs. I live in Bondi and there was nowhere near that level of compliance here. Nor was there anything like the same police presence.
— bruce hawker (@brucehawker2010) July 9, 2021
"We don't want to fall into that trap of, you know, like having people questioning, is this racism, and you know, frankly, on the ground, that's what it feels like, that we are being discriminated against in this area," she said.
Residents in southwest Sydney told A Current Affair they felt the extra police wasn't fair.
"I just think it's not fair. I think it's targeting this area, because as you saw, Bondi, Manly, there was a lot more people, more gatherings," one person told ACA.
"Here, as you see, there's not many people. We're just doing our shopping and then going home. So I think it's...I feel that we have been singled out."
"I feel like western Sydney has been attacked, to tell you the truth, because it didn't come from here, it came from Bondi," another local told the show.
Photos shared by NSW Police show officers out in the streets of suburbs in the south, including mounted police officers.
Meanwhile, pictures taken by the Australian Associated Press show the streets of Bankstown and Liverpool, both in the southwest completely deserted.
The latest Covid outbreak in Sydney was first detected in the eastern suburbs and several people on social media pointed out the difference in the response from police between the two areas of Sydney.
Democracy in Colour has started a petition, calling for pandemic support, not police.
"Police are not health workers," the petition says.
"Their presence is completely unwarranted and shows very clearly the different standards of treatment between the overwhelmingly white Northern Beaches and the melting pot of Liverpool.
"It’s a ham-fisted, punitive approach that targets working class communities and people of colour in Sydney’s south west."
The petition calls for the cancellation for the mounted police in southwest Sydney and remove the extra police patrols.
Democracy in Colour head Neha Madhok said the police response was "thinly veiled racism" and targeted people of colour and working-class communities.
Premier denies targeting any suburbs: 'Postcode doesn't matter'
In her daily press conference on Friday, NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian denied the south west was being singled out and said police were following the virus.
"South-west Sydney, Bondi, suburbs closer to the Shire, police will move where the virus is moving," she said.
"We know from the get-go that compliance is our biggest challenge and we appreciate it's always a fine balance but we need to stop people doing the wrong thing no matter where they live - in any part of Sydney or Greater Sydney or anywhere else subject to the stay-at-home orders.
"I want to make this point very, very clear: the police, regulators and focus moves to where the virus is moving and it does not matter what the postcode is."
One day earlier, Ms Berejiklian apologised for any offence caused with the crackdown.
"If I have offended anybody I apologise it is not intentional. It is really important to be honest and direct and to get the message out so that people sit up and notice."
Bondi Beach this morning or Fairfield I can’t tell pic.twitter.com/6AusmgGPBS
— Meat Axes & Mullets (@macktruck81) July 8, 2021
New exposure sites around Sydney revealed
Several new exposure sites have been identified from many areas in Sydney — including the IKEA in Tempe and Bunnings in Randwick.
Anyone who is considered a "close contact" must immediately get tested and isolate for 14 days, regardless of the result.
New close contact venues in NSW are:
Oporto, Burwood, Sunday July 4, 1pm to 1.05pm
IKEA, Tempe, Tuesday, July 6, 10am to 9pm
Terry White Chemmart, Revesby, Tuesday, July 6, 8am to 3pm
Speed Medical Practice, Liverpool, Wednesday, July 7, 11.15am to 1.45pm
Decode Group Construction Excavation site, Homebush, Wednesday, July 7, 7am to 3.30pm
St Andrews Pharmacy, St Andrews, Wednesday, July 7, 8.30am to 3.30pm
Wetherill Park Medical Centre, Wetherill Park, Wednesday, July 7, 1.45pm to 2.30pm
Casual contacts must immediately get tested and isolate until a negative result is received.
New casual contact venues in NSW include:
Bunnings, Randwick, Thursday, July 1, 4.30pm to 5.30pm
Service NSW, Friday, July 2, 1.30pm to 2pm
7-Eleven, Matraville, Friday, July 2, 3.15pm to 4.45pm
Woolworths, Mt Druitt, Saturday, 5.15pm to 5.45pm
Coles, Kareela, Friday July 2, 5pm to 10pm and Saturday July 3, 5pm to 10pm
Kmart, Pagewood, Friday, June 25 12.55pm to 1.15pm and Saturday 4.20pm to 5pm
McDonalds, Taren Point, Sunday July 4, 9.10am to 9.30am and Monday July 5, 1.35pm to 1.55pm
Westfield, Burwood, Sunday, July 4, 11.50am to 1.10pm
Kmart, Burwood, Sunday, July 4, 11.50am to 12.35pm
Bunnings, Hoxton Park, Sunday, July 4, 4.25pm to 5pm
1825 Interiors, Campbelltown, Sunday July 4, 1.35pm to 1.50pm
Johnny's Furniture, Campbelltown, Sunday July 4, 1.55pm to 2.15pm
Oz Design Furniture, Campbelltown, Sunday July 4, 2.15pm to 2.40pm
Fair Price Furniture, Campbelltown, Sunday July 4, 2.40pm to 2.50pm
Nick Scali Furniture, Campbelltown, Sunday July 4, 2.50pm to 3.20pm
Harvey Norman, Campbelltown, Sunday July 4, 3.25pm tp 3.50pm
Nick Scali Clearance Outlet, Campbelltown, Sunday July 4, 3.50pm to 4.05pm
BP Connect, Mosman, Sunday July 4, 3.15pm to 3.35pm
Evergreen Fresh World, Burwood, Sunday July 4, 5pm to 5.15pm
Tong Li Supermarket, Burwood, Monday July 5, 12.55pm too 1.10pm
Maroubra Beach Pavilion Beachfront Cafe, Maroubra, Monday July 5, 2.30pm to 2.45pm and Tuesday July 6, 2.30pm to 2.45pm
Anyone who was at Westfield Hurstville on Friday July 2 between 1.30pm and 2.20pm and Parc Menai Skatepark on Monday July 5 between 2pm and 4pm is being asked to monitor for symptoms and immediately get tested and self isolate until a negative result is received.
A full list of exposure sites can be found on the NSW Health website here.
"Anyone with even the mildest of cold-like symptoms is urged to immediately come forward for testing and isolate until a negative result is received," NSW Health said in a statement.
Due to the mounting number of cases in NSW, the lockdown restrictions have tightened, meaning people must stay at home unless it is "absolutely necessary" to leave.
With AAP
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