Party time as Bondi is once again crammed despite Covid

Police say they did not have the manpower to fine all the people who turned up in Bondi on Sunday without a mask. See the video here.

Swarms of people packed North Bondi on Sunday afternoon, many of them without masks, sitting in groups as police watched on.

Blankets and eskys covered Biddigal Reserve as “picnickers’’ watched surfers in the water as a large electronic sign reminding people to socially distance.

Police said there were no fines as officers were patrolling the beach.

A man who was there told the Daily Telegraph people were drinking alcohol, listening to music, dancing and hugging.

The majority of people in Biddigal Reserve in Bondi on Sunday were unmasked and not socially distancing. Picture: OnScene Bondi

Signs instructing social distancing on the north end of Bondi Beach on Sunday night. Picture: Damian Shaw

“It was almost like party time is back in Bondi again as if Covid didn’t exist,” they said.

“It was a social gathering, a normal Bondi day but it isn’t normal times at the moment.”

The man said when he saw the crowd he couldn’t believe it.

“It is not a good look at all but that's just typical Bondi,” the man said.

“Police were just too overwhelmed to enforce Covid-19 protocols.”

Bondi Chief Inspector Nic Twentyman said there were no fines issued.

“It was just part of our normal policing response to Covid-19,” she said.

The impromptu gathering comes after 80 people were told to leave a funeral in Rookwood on Wednesday.

Sydney’s Muslim community voiced its frustration that people were being treated differently in western Sydney while people in eastern suburbs flocked to places like parks, boardwalks and beaches.

“(We) condemn the double standards regarding the application of restrictions observed across Sydney. The stark differences witnessed in the treatment of people in southwest Sydney and those of the eastern suburbs is completely unacceptable,” the Lebanese Muslim Association said in a statement.

The group said it had sought an urgent meeting with police, health officials and those in charge of Rookwood Cemetery so they didn’t experience recurring incidents like this as Muslim families buried their loved ones.

Police said they simply didn't have the numbers to enforce mask wearing in Bondi. Picture: OnScene Bondi

“People who were grieving the deaths of their relatives should not have been placed into the position they were yesterday,” a statement read.

“The cultural and religious ignorance of local police officers reinforces the division that has plagued minorities in southwest and western Sydney.

“We cannot be treated like everything we do is suspicious or in breach of public health orders or a crime.”