Southwest Sydney Covid updates: Campsie Shopping Centre exposure site
The Liverpool Hospital cluster continues to grow, and it is likely “many, many people” have been exposed to the virus at a Campsie shopping centre over 11 days.
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UPDATE 27/07/2021 - 11am
Liverpool Hospital outbreak continues to grow
The Covid outbreak at Liverpool Hospital has grown, with two nurses, a student nurse, and eight patients now testing positive.
The nurses were working in the Geriatric and Vascular Ward at Liverpool Hospital last week, when they tested positive.
Eight patients in the hospital later tested positive to Covid are now in isolation.
Two of the nurses had received one dose of the Covid vaccine and one of the nurses had received two doses, however NSW health official Dr Jeremy McAnulty said the doses were given “quite soon before the illness”.
Contract tracing is underway to identify any other staff infected.
A patient who was transferred from Liverpool Hospital to Fairfield Hospital from one of the aforementioned wards has since tested positive to Covid, and four patients at Fairfield have been named as close contacts and are currently in isolation.
“It’s a very concerning situation but the local health district is onto it... they are working very closely with the staff and the patients to make sure that patients are diagnosed early and that contacts are identified and put in lockdown,” Dr McAnulty said.
Campsie Centre Shopping Mall outbreak
It is likely “many, many people” were exposed to the virus at a shopping centre in Campsie, Dr McAnulty has said.
Campsie Centre Shopping Mall has been listed as an exposure site for 11 days.
It is understood numerous infectious persons had visited various shops in the centre.
When asked how it could be that the community was only notified now, Dr McAnulty said there was always a gap between exposure, infection and public notification.
“It’s a commuity where we had a lot of cases, and sometimes it’s difficult to tease out what the source of the infection was versus where people are just travelling when they are infectious,” he said.
Over time, it was clear that a number of cases had visited the shopping centre there and there was transmission identified there in a number of shops in Campsie.”
He said there were numerous shops in the shopping mall identified as exposure sites and numerous cases recorded in the community.
“It would be many, many people in the community (exposed), its a very popular shopping centre,” he said.
“We interview cases, identify where they’ve been in that period. It’s inevitable when someone is exposed, it takes some days to get sick, interview them, period between their exposure and identifying publicly, and us underatnding where they acquired the infeciton.”
Campbelltown Covid Death
A woman in her 80s, who died of Covid at Campbelltown Hospital on Monday morning, was not vaccinated, Health officials have confirmed.
It is understood she got the virus from a household contact.
Campsie Shopping Centre 11-day exposure site
UPDATE 27/07/2021
A shopping centre in Sydney’s southwest was a close contact exposure site for 11 days, according to NSW Health.
Anyone who visited Campsie Centre Shopping Mall from July 14 to July 14 has been identified as a close contact.
NSW Health have called it “a key venue of concern”.
They must get tested and isolate for 14 days, regardless of the result.
Numerous other venues in Campsie were named as exposure sites on Monday evening, including The World of Fruit on Beamish St.
Man dies of Covid at Campbelltown Hospital
UPDATE 27/07/2021 - 8am
A man in his 80s died at Campbelltown Hospital on Monday morning, NSW Health has reported
A Pendle Hill in her 80s was also among Monday’s Covid casualties, passing away on Monday afternoon.
“These are the ninth and 10th COVID-19 related deaths of the current outbreak, with 66 in NSW since the beginning of the pandemic,’’ a NSW Health spokesman said.
Southwest Sydney vaccination hub opens, 5000 vaccinations a day
UPDATE 27/07/2021 - 5pm
Amass vaccination hub, opened at Macquarie Fields on Monday, is expected to provide 5000 vaccinations a day.
The vaccination clinic at Glenquarie Town Centre will be run by NSW Health.
Member for Werriwa, Anne Stanley, said: “I have been calling for more vaccines and more vaccination clinics since the rollout was first announced. While the vaccination program has been too slow and ineffective to date, I hope this marks a turning points”.
The centre is open 8am to 7pm, Monday to Saturday.
‘1000 new cases’: Liverpool spa owner criticised over anti-lockdown video
UPDATE 26/07/2021 - 3pm
A man who videoed himself at the anti-lockdown protest over the weekend yelling “1000 new cases tomorrow” and cheering, has said it was “a simple joke”.
The original video, posted on Hamudi Dandachli’s personal Instagram, was heavily criticised online after he seemed to celebrate a potential ballooning of cases following the ’Freedom’ rally.
But on Sunday, Dandachli, who owns Little Europe Day Spa in Liverpool, posted a video to his personal and business Instagram pages addressing critics and thanking them for the publicity.
“The amount of fake profiles that are causing hatred towards myself, saying awful things and trying to put bad reviews on my business. You will not succeed … in any way shape or form,” he said in the video.
Dandachli said “everything was absolutely amazing” at the “peaceful” protest, but that one line “1000 new cases” in his video updates caused controversy.
Footage of the rally has shown some protestors violently clashing with police and the behaviour of some has been condemned by NSW Deputy Police Commissioner Gary Worboys as “violent, filthy (and) risky”.
“One small line of ‘1000 cases’. That (TikTok) man that was guessing how many cases there was on the microphone and it was a simple joke of me saying ‘1000 cases’. There was nothing serious about it in any way, shape or form,” he continued.
Dandachli said his incentive for going to the protest was to “to fight for small businesses … fight for humanity, to fight for freedom” and because he didn’t want to be forced to take the vaccine.
At least 57 people have been charged over the protests and more than 500 have been fined.
Dandachli has not been charged and is not alleged to have engaged in violence at the protest.
He did not respond when contacted for comment and has changed hispersonal Instagram profile to private.
UPDATE 26/07/2021 - 11am
A healthcare worker at Liverpool Hospital worked while infectious, NSW Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant has confirmed.
Dr Chant said the Local Health District was working promptly to provide urgent close contact testing at the hospital.
Today, 48 pharmacies across southwest Sydney have started giving out the AstraZeneca vaccines, including in Bankstown, Cannes Hill, Casula, Liverpool, Fairfield, Panania, and others.
NSW reported 145 cases of Covid, with 51 infectious in the community.
UPDATE 26/07/2021 - 10am
A Bankstown nursing home is in lockdown after a staff member tested positive to Covid over the weekend.
Families of Bankstown Terrace Care Community facility residents were alerted on Sunday night that an employee had tested positive to the virus.
An email sent by general manager Rick Morgan to family on Sunday night said staff were working “immediately” to secure the nursing home and protect residents.
“We were advised this evening that a team member has tested positive to COVID-19,” Mr Morgan said in the email.
“Fortunately, the majority of our residents and team have been vaccinated.”
Formerly Opal Bankstown, it was hit hard by Covid at the start of the pandemic last year, when three elderly residents died.
UPDATE 23/07/2021 - 11.30am
NSW will call for National Cabinet to “refocus” its vaccine strategy to concentrate on southwest Sydney‘s outbreak, the Premier has said, as NSW records 136 new cases.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian declared a “national emergency”.
“Dr Chant and her team advised us that the situation that exists now in New South Wales, namely around south-western and now Western Sydney suburbs, is regarded as a national emergency,” Ms Berejiklian said.
She said the focus was now to get first jabs in the arms of people who haven’t been vaccinated in southwest Sydney, including young people, as even one dose could reduce the chance of transmitting the virus.
“I also want to stress that from today the New South Wales government will be calling on the Federal Government to refocus our national vaccination strategy… we need to get more of them into arms, even if it is a first jab, because we know that reduces transmission,” Ms Berejiklian said.
“I just want to say to the people of south-western Sydney and Western Sydney that are now most impacted, thus not only with a government provide you with additional support, we will also be considering over the weekend and early next week measures to provide your support in different ways.”
NSW Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant said at today’s Covid update she wanted measures put in place to get all essential workers in the Fairfield, Bankstown, Liverpool and now Cumberland and Blacktown essential workers vaccinated.
She said transmission was continuing among households, between households, at supermarkets and other essential retail locations, and in workplaces.
“Every day people from those LGA‘s have to go out to work, to keep our city going, they are doing critical food production, critical work, to keep society functioning, and we are seeing cases introduced the virus into various workplaces.”
“Under 40s would not have been routinely eligible for the vaccination in terms of Pfizer, I would have recommended to government is that we urgently do mass vaccination of those workers to stem the transmission risk,” Dr Chant said.
“We need to get vaccines into younger people in southwest Sydney… we need to add new strategies.”
In addition to the Fairfield, Liverpool and Canterbury-Bankstown LGAs, the suburbs now under stay at home orders for workers include Cumberland, Maryland, Greystanes, Guildford, Pendle Hill, Girraween, Seven Hills and Blacktown.
53 of the new Covid cases were infectious in the community.
UPDATE 22/07/2021 - 2.30pm
The Prime Minister has given an update on what the vaccination rollout will look like in affected suburbs in southwest Sydney over the coming weeks.
As part of a pharmacy vaccination rollout phase, 48 pharmacies from the Liverpool, Canterbury-Bankstown and Fairfield LGAs will be offering the vaccine to patrons by the start of next week.
“Particularly in Metropolitan areas affected by the latest outbreak in Sydney, in Fairfield, Canterbury-Bankstown and Liverpool, 48 pharmacies will commence offering vaccines in these areas by the start of next week,” Prime Minister Scott Morrison said at a press conference on Thursday afternoon.
From next Monday, all community pharmacies across the country will be eligible to administer Astrazeneca vaccines and will be given indemnity, the Prime Minister said.
He also said the Chester Hill GP Respiratory Clinic was in the process of being set up.
“There is also the Chester Hill GP Respiratory Clinic which is also being set up and we are working to establish that with local doctors there over recent weeks to get that in place,” Mr Morrison said.
Currently 118 community pharmacies across the country offer vaccinations, centred particularly in rural and regional areas.
By the end of this month, Mr Morrison said this number would be 470.
It is also understood that the Macquarie Fields vaccination hub, set up by the NSW Government, will be opening on Monday.
UPDATE 22/07/2021 - 11am
NSW has recorded 124 new Covid cases on another record day of testing which saw 85,000 people get swabbed.
48 of these cases were infectious in the community.
Areas of concern now include Fairfield, Liverpool, Bankstown, Lakemba, Campsie, Narwee and Earlwood.
30 of the new Covid cases were from Fairfield LGA, 23 from Cumberland, 21 from Canterbury-Bankstown, 12 from Blacktown, 11 from Liverpool, and 7 from Georges River.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian said it was devastating to see “households on households of loved ones” get Covid.
“It’s cruel how much this virus is contagious .. it is spreading like we’ve never seen before”.
118 people are in hospital, with 28 in intensive care and 14 ventilated
UPDATE 21/07/2021 - 11am
NSW has recorded 110 new Covid cases from a record 84,000 tests, with surveillance testing extending to some workers from Canterbury-Bankstown from Friday.
From Friday 23 July, any person who lives in the Canterbury-Bankstown LGA and who works in health or aged care can only work outside of the Canterbury-Bankstown LGA if the person has been tested for COVID-19 in the previous 72 hours.
The person will need to provide evidence of the test to their employer, the occupier of premises in which the person works or a police officer on request.
Covid result delays in the Fairfield LGA have created problems for Fairfield residents working in other LGAs over the last few days.
“While (cases in Fairfield) remain consistently high compared to the rest of the state, we‘re now seeing additional spillover in the Canterbury-Bankstown local government area and the suburbs within that area,” Premier Gladys Berejiklian said.
50 of the 110 cases up to 8pm on Wednesday were from southwest Sydney.
Areas of concern now include Lakemba and Fairfield.
Cases have also increased in Western Sydney.
UPDATE 21/07/2021 - 10am
Fairfield officials have hit back at reductions in testing hours at the areas largest clinic, saying it is “not acceptable” given what is required.
The Fairfield Mayor also said it was a “concern” that residents were waiting up to three days for their test results, which meant they were getting a new test before they had received results for their previous test.
Fairfield residents have complained about result wait times of up to 72 hours over the last few days, including at the Mounties and Showground drive-through testing clinics.
Laverty Pathology, which runs clinics in Liverpool and Fairfield, acknowledged they were experiencing delays with Covid testing turnaround times, in a statement on Tuesday.
These delays appeared to be happening all over Sydney.
“We are concerned about the changes that are occurring to our testing clinics without any consultation with the community or the council,” he said in a statement posted on Facebook.
“This morning we have just found out that the hours of operations have been changed and that Fairfield Showground will no longer be 24 hours.
“This is not acceptable given it’s required given the three-day testing requirements on our residents.”
Also of concern is that workers are required to get tested every 3 days, are not receiving their results for many days and in many instances not receiving them at all.”
The requirement for mandatory testing of authorised workers every was put in place by the NSW Government and they need to provide the adequate resources for our residents to comply.”
On Monday, NSW chief health officer, Dr Kerry Chant, accepted there were delays,and asked people to “be patient”.
On Tuesday, Chant noted there were delays with “one of the private labs” that processes more than 10,000 tests per day.
She said providers could prioritise test results for those with symptoms or who are close contacts.
UPDATE 20/07/2021 - 11am
NSW has recorded 78 cases to 8pm last night. From Tuesday’s cases, 27 people were infectious in the community.
NSW Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant said they were still seeing cases in Fairfield and that there was an “emerging risk in Canterbury Bankstown”, including the areas of Belmore, Yagoona and Bankstown.
Liverpool, Canterbury-Bankstown and Fairfield LGAs were still making up the majority of cases - 52 of the 78 new locally transmitted cases.
Dr Chant also said the “responsibility is now firmly on workplaces “ to reduce the spread of Covid.
She also hit back at criticism of long waits for Covid-19 test results, calling high testing rates a double-edged sword.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian said: “I want to say a big thank you to those living in the Fairfield local government area. We have noticed a significant increase in testing in that community and today.”
There were about 63,000 Covid tests taken on Monday.
19/07/2021 - 5pm
The state’s top medical expert has given her condolences to the family of the latest Covid fatality - the mother of the two removalists who had travelled to western NSW while positive with COVID-19.
The woman, 57, was found dead in her southwest Sydney home yesterday.
She is the 61st person to die in NSW from COVID-19.
The woman, who is the mother of Roni and Ramsin Shawka, was found in her Green Valley home about 9.15am, with police in PPE roping off the street as an operation is underway.
“Tragically there has been a death of a woman in her 50s who was a confirmed Covid case, she was a resident of southwest Sydney,” Dr Kerry Chant said.
“Can I just extend my sympathies to her family and friends in this most difficult time.”
UPDATE 19/07/2021 - 1.40pm
A large freight company in Warwick Farm has set up an on-site testing clinic for workers, with the Commercial Director calling it a “positive” experience.
Direct Freight Express will now offer on-site testing to workers, a large proportion of whom are from southwest Sydney, particularly Fairfield, twice per week, in accordance with the 3-day surveillance testing of southwest Sydney residents.
Direct Freight Express is a large Transport and Logistics operator.
Commercial Director Stephen Catania said they opened today’s pop-up clinic as a “trial” and said workers had been “positive and receptive to it”.
“This morning was a trial to determine if it was a good idea. There’s been a positive and receptive response. We’ve planned to implement it,” he said.
Catania said it was the “logical choice given the proportion of staff in the southwest area and Fairfield LGA”.
He said it would “absolutely” be a positive step for other large companies “if you have a high proportion of staff in the south west area and Fairfield LGA”.
UPDATE 19/07/2021 - 11.30am
NSW has recorded 98 new Covid cases, with 73 of those cases from southwest Sydney, as the Government defends the tighter restrictions across Sydney.
NSW Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant has acknowledged that southwest Sydney was “bearing the burden of the impact of Covid”.
20 of the Covid cases were infectious in the community and 17 were in partial isolation.
47 of the community transmissions on Monday were from Fairfield, 13 from Liverpool and 13 from Canterbury-Bankstown.
Monday’s list of areas of concern included Lakemba, Punchbowl, Fairfield, Bankstown, Liverpool, Cumberland, Merrylands, Guildford, Wollongong, Blaney, Parkes, Coffs Harbour, Crows Nest, St Leonards, Mittagong, Burradoo, Georges River, Bayside and the Sutherland Shire.
The “disease burden is incredibly high in south western Sydney,” Dr Kerry Chant said.
On shutting down the construction industry across Sydney until July 30, Dr Chant said: “we needed to do more at reducing mobility”.
She said they were “concerned we had seen a bunch of outbreaks at workplaces ... (and) need to reduce the opportunity for workplace transmission events to occur”.
Dr Chant has defended Covid test wait times, as Fairfield residents reported waits of up to 75 hours in some cases.
“In general, the turnaround times are still holding up, but there is specific issues that are being addressed,” Dr Chant said.
She said to “be patient”.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian said the Government wanted to get kids back to school and people back to work which is why they put in those extra restrictions over the weekend.
The Premier has also asked the community to only celebrate the Muslim holiday of Eid at home with their household.
“Don’t leave the household for important celebrations going on in the community,” she said.
UPDATE 19/07/2021 - 7am
New Covid rules have come into effect this weekend with construction in Greater Sydney paused from Monday and southwest Sydney residents only leaving their LGA if they are “authorised workers”.
On Saturday and Sunday, NSW recorded 111 and 105 new Covid cases. 83 of Saturday’s cases were from southwest Sydney and 76 on Sunday.
From 12.01am all construction has been paused, along with non-urgent maintenance, including cleaning services and repair work on residential premise.
A “level of construction” would resume on July 30, Premier Gladys Berejiklian has said.
On Saturday, the Premier announced tighter restrictions for southwest Sydney residents leaving the LGA to work.
Initially, restrictions appeared to only included healthcare and emergency services workers however the Government has now issued a long list of what they consider to be “authorised workers”.
In retail, this includes anyone working in supermarkets, food and drink premises or shops that largely sell food and drinks, chemists and pharmacies, kiosks, shops that sell office supplies, pet supplies, newspapers and stationary, alcohol, maternity and baby supplies, medical or pharmaceutical supplies, cellar door premises, hardware and building supplies, rural supplies, timber yards, vehicle hire premises, industrial and commercial food retailing and anyone who conducts ‘click and collect’ services.
In education industry, it includes those who provide schooling and early childhood education.
A number of manufacturing workers can still head into work, including those who produce and manufacture food, beverages, groceries and sanitary products and various transport, postal and warehousing workers will also be allowed to leave the LGA for work.
See the list of “authorised workers” here.
“We know that a large part of the [freight and logistics] workforces do come from those three local government areas,” Ms Berejiklian said.
Authorised workers who live in Fairfield but leave the LGA for work must get a COVID-19 test every three days as previously announced.
Following the announcement about all construction in Greater Sydney halting, Australian Constructors Association CEO Jon Davis slammed the move.
“It‘s come completely left of field, we were having fairly construction discussions with government around how to keep worksites open… then we got the news none of us were expecting,” Mr Davies told 2GB.
“We understand the need to get on top of this outbreak… but we think they’ve gone over the top shutting down the whole industry, we think this was excessive and completely unnecessary.”
On Saturday afternoon, police were called to Paul Keating Park in Bankstown, where some were protesting the new lockdown laws.
Six males – aged 29, 19, 55, 24, 17 and 35, and two women, aged 24 and 26 – were all issued PINs after they allegedly refused to leave the area, while a 57-year-old man and a 36-year-old woman were arrested.
UPDATE 16/07/2021 - 11.30am
Three-quarters of new Covid cases have come from the Fairfield Local Government Area, as the State records 97 local transmissions.
At least 29 of those 97 cases were infectious in the community, Premier Gladys Berejiklian said on Friday.
These numbers were taken from about 77,500 Covid tests, a large portion of which were from those in the Fairfield Local Government Area.
NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard said the Delta variant, now focused in southwest Sydney, might be 1000 times more infectious than previous variants.
The “epicentre is now the Fairfield Local Government Area. It’s not fair. It’s a particular infectious variant,” he said.
Up over 70 percent of all of our cases are happening in southwest Sydney.”
“The challenge being presented to Fairfield Local Government Area is enormous,” he continued.
UPDATE 16/07/2021 - 8am
A healthcare worker at Liverpool and Campbelltown hospitals has reportedly tested positive to Covid-19 after a patient, who had visited Liverpool Hospital for a procedure, tested positive days before.
On Thursday, Liverpool Hospital staff went in isolation after a woman who arrived for a caesarean procedure on Wednesday tested positive to Covid.
It has now been reported that a healthcare worker at Liverpool and Campbelltown hospitals tested positive to Covid last night.
Three paramedics working at Liverpool ambulance station have also tested positive to Covid.
NSW Health said the operating theatres at both hospitals had been deep cleaned.
UPDATE 15/07/2021 - 11.30am
NSW has recorded 65 new Covid cases with 28 of those infectious in the community.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian said several people visited pharmacies and GP clinics while they had symptoms.
“Please know that if you have symptoms the only place you should go is go to get tested and isolate. If you are worried, call a health clinic or GP or somebody on the phone,” Ms Berejiklian said.
NSW recorded 65 new locally acquired cases of #COVID19 in the 24 hours to 8pm last night. pic.twitter.com/tW6Zxiitm6
— NSW Health (@NSWHealth) July 15, 2021
The areas of concern are Emu Plains, Cumberland, Greenfield Park, Bayside LGA, Smithfield, Fairfield Heights, St Johns Park, Canley Heights, Fairfield, Bankstown, Condell Park, Hurstville, Roselands, Rosebery, Canterbury, Belmore, Georges River LGA, Liverpool LGA and Sutherland Shire LGA.
A worksite at Bellfrog St at Hanson Concrete in Greenacre has also recorded a number of cases – there are four cases associated with this worksite. Next door there are nine cases at D + M Asphalt at Greenacre.
UPDATE 15/07/2021
A southwestern Sydney man has recorded an emotional video from hospital telling people to take Covid seriously after it almost killed him.
Khaled Elmasri delivered the message in Arabic to his community which is battling the most severe outbreak in Sydney.
The father-of-four was hospitalised a week ago after he was struggling to breathe, and almost ended up in intensive care.
“I have learnt my lesson the hard way,” he said in Arabic.
“Of course, I know and know Covid-19 is a real disease, but I don’t think that before now, I took it seriously enough,” he said. “I was careful, but I don’t think I was careful enough. I should have committed 100 per cent.”
“It is only now after a few days that I can talk and breathe a bit more normally,” he said.
“Take the vaccine program seriously. I didn’t take it seriously enough to put my name down for a vaccine beforehand. With hindsight I feel like I should have done that.
“I have learnt my lesson the hard way. I am now going to get the vaccine,” he said.
There have now been two deaths linked to the Sydney outbreak, including a man in his 70s and a woman in her 90s.
EARLIER
Liverpool Hospital staff are in isolation after a woman who arrived for a caesarean procedure on Wednesday tested positive to Covid-19.
It is understood that only emergency surgery is going ahead as close and casual contacts are identified.
It is believed the woman visited various areas of the hospital ahead of her surgery.
A fully vaccinated nurse, who works at Westmead Hospital’s Covid ward, has also returned a positive result on Tuesday, despite wearing full protective equipment at work.
It is understood the nurse did not display any Covid symptoms and there are no new infections connected to the staff member, according to NSW Health.
EARLIER
Queues were beginning to ease at many of the Fairfield Covid testing clinics late last night after more 24-hour testing sites were opened.
On Tuesday night and Wednesday, after compulsory testing was announced for Fairfield residents working out of the local government area, wait times at the handful of Fairfield testing clinics were up to six hours long.
But Health authorities announced a frantic expansion of testing locations in Fairfield on Wednesday night in the face of extreme backlash.
Fairfield Showground is now a 24 hour site and a new testing clinic at the Mounties Club, which will open on Friday morning, will also be open 24 hours.
On Wednesday, Ms Berejiklian suggested people should “think twice” about going to work “unless the work you’re doing is keeping someone alive or keeping someone going”.
UPDATE 14/07/2021
Members of the Government have apologised for long wait times at Fairfield clinics, as the community says they “need more testing centres” to deal with new compulsory testing measures.
Seventy of the 97 new Covid cases reported in NSW today were from southwest Sydney, while Greater Sydney goes into a further two weeks of lockdown.
Long queues persisted for Fairfield residents on Wednesday, as the Premier defended the Public Health Order mandating Fairfield LGA workers to be Covid-tested every 72 hours.
“The reason we are putting these additional measures in around testing and the like is because we don‘t want to sit back, We don’t want a situation or a number of cases to crop up and take off,” Gladys Berejiklian said at the 11am press conference.
She said she acknowledged people had to wait “a long time” for testing overnight but asked locals to ”be patient”.
She also said essential workers from Fairfield, not showing symptoms, could go and get tested at other Covid clinics around Sydney closer to their workplaces.
“That is why we are saying if you have symptoms you should go to your closest clinic, but if you don‘t have symptoms and you are a worker… you are able to go outside the Fairfield area for that. There are more than 400 (clinics),” she said.
Premier Berejiklian warned other areas including nearby Bankstown and Liverpool should limit their movements or risked being placed under tighter restrictions.
Fairfield Mayor Frank Carbone took to Facebook on Wednesday morning to say the “NSW Government needs to open more testing clinics” in the local government area.
“We also need specialised testing clinics for those with symptoms given the Government announcement of surveillance testing of our essential workers which has overwhelmed our testing sites,” he added.
Treasurer Dominic Perrottet apologised for long waiting times at testing clinics in the Fairfield LGA.
“On behalf of the government I apologise to everyone in Fairfield for this significant inconvenience
but also say thank you for the sacrifices they‘re making,” Mr Perrottet told 2GB’s Ben Fordham.
NSW Police Deputy Commissioner Gary Worboys said police would continue to help health officials manage long queues and hundreds of patients after the testing operation exploded overnight.
“(It was) a very challenging situation last night at Fairfield around those testing centres,” Dep Comm Worboys said.
“We will continue to do that today, right throughout the next few days, until such times as we get some sort of sense of normality about it…. to make sure the testing regime has been adopted in that Fairfield area runs as smoothly as it can.“
A 24/7 Covid testing clinic has opened at Endeavour Sports Park in Fairfield while other clinics in the LGA have extended their opening hours.
At midday on Wednesday there kilometre-long queues at Smithfield Douglass Hanly Moir drive-through and Fairfield Showground drive-through centres.
EARLIER
The community has begged for more resources as new Covid restrictions for Fairfield throw the region’s testing centre’s into chaos.
On Tuesday, a new Public Health Order was signed, which requires all essential workers leaving Fairfield for employment to get tested for Covid once every three days.
The health order was effective from midnight.
But yesterday evening, when Fairfield residents went to get tested after work, as per the rules, they were met with lengthy lines at some testing clinics, including Fairfield Showground and Endeavour reserve testing clinic.
The lines, 2km long in some instances, create traffic issues across the area.
Tuesday evening, in a series of Facebook posts, Fairfield Mayor Frank Carbone warned residents about impossible lines at testing clinics and criticised the NSW Government for enforcing such rules without proper resources.
“Don’t go to Fairfield Showground as police are now turning people away due to the overcrowding and the danger posed on Smithfield road,” he wrote on Facebook.
“We support more testing but adequate resources need to be put in place, today has been a terrible experience with a 6 hour wait and the NSW government needs to put more testing sites across Fairfield.”
Endeavour reserve testing clinic has blocked all of The Boulevard, Avenell St and every other road leading into the Park for kilometres, crossing over into Hamilton Road.”
These poor residents who need to go to work tomorrow are having to wait hours due to the new testing rules that apply to Fairfield residents who are required to get tested every 3 days if they work outside our area.”
Congratulations Gladys, you have done our city a disservice and just stopped any person that doesn’t work outside the area, who genuinely has symptoms and needs a test, from getting tested.”
UPDATE 12/07/2021
Business is suffering in one of Sydney’s worst hit Covid hot spots, with one specialty supermarket in Liverpool saying they would have to replace half the food on their shelves as it had expired.
Liverpool Plaza, Liverpool Westfield and surrounding city streets – normally bustling – were exceedingly quiet at lunchtime on Monday.
Even shops deemed essential were barren.
Bahador Zahrouni, 28, who runs New Family Market on Elizabeth St with his mum Amal and brother Bak, said you normally wouldn’t be able to walk through the now empty Middle Eastern Supermarket just after lunch.
But due to the last few weeks of lockdown, he said: “Half of the stuff is expired … Everything is a waste”.
“We can’t afford to pay the rent, to be honest,” he said.
He said locals were scared to go out to buy essentials, not because they were scared for their health but because they were scared of getting a fine.
When the store opened about two years ago, business was booming, Zahrouni said, but since the first lockdown in March 2020, business has never returned to normal, and they found themselves competing more and more with big supermarket prices.
He said lockdown was necessary but small businesses needed “a bit of help” from the Government to survive.
“If there’s no help from the Government, how are we going to keep our doors open,” he said.
In Liverpool Plaza, Ray Khan of Big Ray’s said sales are down about ten-fold in the “pretty much dead” food hall.
“Our sales have dropped so much. Like 10 times,” he said.
“As a business owner it’s very hard, you know. I’ve got a wife and we’re trying to pay our rent,” he said.
For us, I don’t know if there’s going to be any reduction in rent or not, that’s up to management, but we have to stay open and then we are going to suffer … It’s a Catch 22.”
I understand the lockdown, I agree with the lockdown, but maybe give better instructions to everybody (including shop owners) not just the general public,” he said.
For now, “What do you do?” is the way most conversations end.
UPDATE
A Sydney Mayor has said the advertised show of force by police in southwest Sydney “does not feel like a community policing exercise” despite the Government’s reassurance that it is.
Mayors and community groups have hit out at the messaging and perceptions around the publicised police boost in the region, after southwest Sydney accounted for 21 of the 44 locally transmitted Covid cases on Thursday.
The “high-visibility” police operation saw an extra 100 police officers, including resources 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, move into the area as of 7am on Friday.
“Our police will be targeting the people who think the rules don’t apply to them. Those people are putting everyone’s lives at risk, including their own families, and working to prolong the lockdown,” Metropolitan Field Operations Deputy Commissioner Mal Lanyon said in a statement on Thursday.
Liverpool Mayor Wendy Waller said despite reassurances by Premier Gladys Berejiklian at Friday’s press conference, she was concerned the community might perceive the police operation as something of a targeted blitz.
“When we see mounted police and officers arriving from other parts of Sydney that does not feel like a community policing exercise,” Mayor Waller said.
(It) perpetuates negative stereotypes about southwest Sydney,” she added.
“We didn’t see the same messaging throughout the Bondi outbreak, the ramifications of which continue to be felt. What message is this sending to the law-abiding people of Liverpool who I represent and to the rest of Sydney?”
Canterbury-Bankstown Mayor Khal Asfour said he objected to the “tough talk” used by NSW Police.
“I’m not against police looking for those not adhering to the health regulations set down by the government. What I, and indeed my community, object to is the language and tough talk that has been used by the NSW Police,” he said.
“This issue is not just an issue in southwest Sydney, there appears to be complacency across the entire metropolitan area.”
He said, increased policing was not the solution but that vaccination was key.
Chair of Sydney Alliance, Mary Waterford, said early on Friday, “we are united in our outrage that the NSW government is approaching Sydney-siders in radically different ways depending on where they live.
“The NSW government needs to implement a public health strategy that takes care of every person, including low-income and migrant communities in southwest Sydney,” she said.
A video of Rashay’s employee Rami Ykmour being arrested after his staff were allegedly seen by police not wearing masks has also gathered momentum online.
The Premier reassured the south west Sydney community they shouldn’t feel like they were being targeted by the police presence, after she was asked about the incident at Friday’s press conference.
“I don’t want anyone to feel like that (targeted),” she said.
“If you’re not doing the right thing, please know that we will have to have the law come down on you.”
When asked about the level of policing in southwest sydney, Ms Berejiklian said: “The police and our regulators move where the virus is moving so whether it’s the northern beaches, whether its south eastern Sydney, whether it’s south western Sydney and now we’ve seen suburbs close to the shire. Police will move where the virus is moving.
“We need to stop people doing the wrong thing no matter where they live.
“(We) assure the community, the police and our regulators are there to help and there to keep our community safe.”
Deputy Commissioner Gary Worboys added on Friday: “Commissioner Fuller made an operational decision to push more police into southwest Sydney … a similar decision was made, where we pushed police into Bondi recently”
The operational decision was made based on the public health orders and the fundamental response that police have to enforce those health orders,” he said.
He asked for help from the community, “particularly in southwest Sydney where there might be some barrier to what people can and can’t do, we would really ask family and friends to explain it to those people, what is required of them.”
Operations Deputy Commissioner Lanyon took to The Today Show on Friday morning to say: “This is not about discrimination. This is not about racism. This is about enforcing the health order and we will do that fairly.”
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