Most Sydneysiders willing to don masks as new $200 on-the-spot fine rule begins

Sydney residents faced their first day of copping a $200 fine if they don’t wear a mask indoors in a major shift in NSW government policy.

Sydney residents have quickly adapted to new regulations threatening $200 on-the-spot fines, donning masks as the city grapples with its latest coronavirus wave.

On the bustling streets of Burwood in Sydney’s inner west, just a stone’s throw from the site of a COVID outbreak over the Christmas/New Year’s period, shoppers, residents and workers took to the new public health orders which came into force on Monday.

The masses of people walking the streets and browsing inside the suburb’s major shopping hub at Westfield Burwood almost universally seemed content to cover up.

Even those walking through outdoor areas largely wore masks, despite not being required to do so by law.

“Masks should be mandatory to prevent the spread of the disease until the coronavirus is eradicated,” Danny Saad said as he walked along Burwood Road.

“What happens if I go to my mother’s house and sit in her bedroom and I give her coronavirus?”

Danny Saad said he believed wearing masks should be mandatory for all people. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Gaye Gerard

Mr Saad told News Corp Australia he was comfortable wearing a mask to prevent the spread of COVID-19, much like he would take other precautions with his health.

A walk down Burwood’s main drag and through the Westfield Shopping Centre revealed that besides a few people, almost everyone walking around the district was willing to comply with the health orders.

Sydneysiders seen wearing masks as the first day of mandatory mask wearing in public places due to COVID-19 is in full swing. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Gaye Gerard

While NSW recorded no new cases of COVID-19 on Monday — its first zero count since December 14 — authorities remain wary considering the wave of the virus that shut down the northern beaches and precipitated the new mandatory mask laws.

The new regulations covering many indoor venues came into effect on Sunday however NSW Police only began issuing $200 on-the-spot fines for noncompliance on Monday.

Under the mandate, face masks are compulsory in all shopping centres, on public transport, at cinemas and theatres, places of worship, hair and beauty salons and for anyone visiting aged care facilities.

Acting NSW Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon on Monday said that the take-up of masks by residents had been “magnificent” and the force’s preference was to caution or advise people to abide by the rules before fining them.

Locals Ava Ghahreman and Diana Sharma are seen wearing masks shopping in Bondi Junction. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Gaye Gerard

Burwood is one suburb over from Croydon, the site of a cluster which resulted in nine people becoming infected over the festive period.

The cluster, which relates to an extended family, has been linked back to the Avalon outbreak however tracers have not been able to establish how the first member of the cluster came to be infected.

Madyson and Monica, who work at a beauty clinic along the busy Burwood Road strip and who both declined to give their surnames, said reaction from customers about mask laws had been mixed.

“Everyone has different reactions to it. You also have to take into account people’s disabilities and other things,” Madyson said.

“It’s 50-50, people are still questioning is it real? I see on social media people questioning the need for it,” Monica said.

Jessica McConkey and her partner David Blackburn said they were happy to wear masks to help flatten the curve. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Gaye Gerard

It was a similar story at Westfield Bondi Junction in Sydney’s eastern suburbs where apart from a few cases, most people were willing to don masks for the sake of stemming the spread of the virus.

Shortly before Christmas, anyone who attended the centre during a three-hour period on December 19 was considered a casual contact of a known case and was told to monitor for symptoms.

“I’m fine with it, if it helps flatten the curve and get us back to easing restrictions,” Jessica McConkey said as she roamed the centre

“You’re going into a shopping centre for an hour at a time, wearing a mask isn’t that much of a deal,” her partner David Blackburn added.

NSW’s chief health officer Dr Kerry Chant said that the government was attempting to be pragmatic about the laws, saying they were not being enforced in gyms and other settings where it wasn’t reasonable.

NSW chief health officer Dr Kerry Chant and Acting Premier John Barilaro said that zero new cases of COVID-19 were recorded on Monday. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Gaye Gerard

She also said there were exceptions to the rules including for children under 12 and people with medical conditions.