Sydney Islamic leaders band together as authorities struggle to contain spread in Sydney’s west

Islamic leaders have banded together to push a key message in Sydney’s west, an area considered a hotspot for Covid-19 cases.

Sydney Islamic leaders have banded together to push their communities to get vaccinated as authorities struggle to contain the spread of Covid-19 in the city’s west.

The NSW government on Thursday revealed the suburbs with the fastest growing numbers were all situated in Sydney’s west and southwest where there are large Muslim communities.

The University of Sydney’s Marie Bashir Institute and the Immunisation Coalition on Thursday launched a series of videos in several languages to push the vaccination message.

Australia’s Grand Mufti Ibrahim Abu Mohamed said the Australian National Imams Council had sought and received assurances that all vaccines were halal.

Authorities have revealed the suburbs with the fastest growing number of Covid-19 cases; all coming from Sydney's west. Picture: Supplied

“We conducted several meetings with Australian physicians and here including Muslim physicians to discuss the components of the vaccine,” he said.

“Is it coming from pig? Does it have any kind of something that Muslims would not be allowed to take? We ensured it doesn’t contain anything of that.”

Dr Mohamed said he had already taken the vaccine and urged the community to “put aside all types of conspiracy theories” to receive the jab.

Belmore-based GP Jamal Rifi said within the Canterbury-Bankstown community, he was battling a perception that AstraZeneca was a second-rate vaccine and many patients were waiting for supplies of Pfizer before getting immunised.

“I took AstraZeneca, my wife took the AstraZeneca and so did everybody else in my family because we would not wait for Pfizer to arrive because the safest is the one available to you,” he said.

Premier Gladys Berejiklian listed the suburbs with the fastest rate of Covid-19 growth, saying they were of “most concern” to authorities.

Ms Berejiklian said Merrylands, Guildford, Auburn, Granville, Lidcombe, Greenacre and Blacktown were the suburbs that had the fastest growing number of infections of the Delta variant.

Premier Gladys Berejiklian revealed the suburbs located in Sydney’s west that were of ‘most concern’. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Christian Gilles

“It doesn't mean (cases) are not in other areas, but these (suburbs) are the main ones,” Ms Berejiklian said.

“We ask people in these communities to stay at home but also assume that the second you leave your home, you have the virus or anybody you come into contact with has it.”

The Premier said authorities also remained concerned with the cases that continued to appear in the state’s west, particularly in Wilcannia and Dubbo.

The heat map on NSW Health shows suburbs across the Cumberland and Canterbury-Bankstown local government areas each have more than 1000 active cases.

According to the data, Blacktown has the highest number of cases with 311 related to the outbreak and 242 still active.

NSW recorded 681 new locally acquired cases on Thursday. Picture: NCA NewsWire /Gaye Gerard

In Guildford there have been 294 infections with 256 active, and another 275 cases in Merrylands, with 237 active.

In Greenacre, 185 cases remain active from 211 infections.

Auburn also has the same number of infections but 162 active cases.

A total of 181 cases were recorded in Granville with 158 still active.

There have also been 89 cases in Lidcombe with 69 still active.

The state’s daily coronavirus infections have continued on an upward trajectory since the lockdown restrictions were introduced on June 26.

NSW recorded 681 new locally acquired cases on Thursday, with only 170 linked to a known case or cluster, while the source of infection is still under investigation for 511.