NSW Police Commissioner Mick Fuller to get more powers for Covid response

The public health orders enforcing the lockdown will be stripped from the control of NSW Health and will redrafted by the NSW Police Commissioner.

Top cop Mick Fuller has been drafted to stop the state’s Covid chaos amid revelations health orders are too weak to be enforced and the community is in open defiance.

Premier Gladys Berejiklian appeared to concede on Wednesday millions of people in Sydney may be waiting until November for a dramatic easing of restrictions after she ­revealed there had been 344 Covid cases and two deaths within 24 hours.

NSW Police Commissioner Mick Fuller is stepping up to take control of Covid restrictions. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Damian Shaw

With thousands made ill and 34 people dead, the government has moved to provide a “circuit breaker” in a bid to arrest the rise in cases.

Police Commissioner Mick Fuller took control of law ­enforcement operations on Wednesday night.

The public health orders enforcing the lockdown will be stripped from the control of NSW Health and will be redrafted over the next two days to close loopholes allowing people to dodge the lockdown.

Permits are expected to be introduced to prevent people travelling to the bush unless absolutely necessary after Byron Bay was plunged into lockdown when a Covid sufferer travelled there to inspect real estate.

Premier Gladys Berejiklian appeared to concede on Wednesday millions of people in Sydney may be waiting until November for an easing of restrictions. Picture: NCA Newswire / Gaye Gerard

There will also be an ­additional 500 defence force troops requested to bolster compliance operations and contact tracing, which is falling days behind.

More police officers will be on the ground in the local ­government areas under the tightest restrictions.

Mr Fuller on Wednesday took command of the Delta response as State Emergency Operations Controller, a position previously held by Deputy Commissioner Gary Worboys.

The escalation in police powers had majority support in the state government’s ­crisis cabinet, but Health ­Minister Brad Hazzard is under­stood to have argued against it.

The crisis in NSW began when an airport limo driver contracted the virus but it emerged health orders did not require him to wear a mask.

There have since been questions raised about the language used by health ­bureaucrats which have made the orders unenforceable.

NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard is understood to have argued against the transferral of the restriction powers to the police. Picture: NCA Newswire / Gaye Gerardis

Police have also been frustrated when NSW Health has become aware a person has breached orders but the ­department has then declined to pass the offender’s address to police to follow up.

There are concerns NSW Health’s contact tracing effort is up to a fortnight behind the spread of the virus, with real fears case numbers could soar.

Premier Gladys Berejiklian warned on Wednesday that a recent “surge” in daily case numbers will continue.

Ms Berejiklian flagged that extra compliance measures would be launched to “make sure we capture those handful of people that continually do the wrong thing”.

Meanwhile, the Premier warned that September and October “will be the most challenging couple of months for NSW” despite previously promising that certain restrictions may be eased if we reach six million vaccine doses by the end of August.