Backpackers, house party revellers, beachgoers and fitness fanatics who breach tough new coronavirus social distancing measures are in the sights of police.
Officers were out in force at beaches and parks across Sydney on Tuesday to stop people flouting restrictions on gatherings of more than two people and non-essential movements.
Backpackers have been singled out in the police blitz after a virus cluster emerged in the city’s eastern suburbs, a hotspot for young travellers who mostly stay in cramped hostels.
Despite the police presence – and repeated warnings people face fines of up to $11,000 and even jail for flouting the rules – it seems some haven’t got the message.
At Kings Cross on Tuesday night, a group of backpackers were spotted partying on the rooftop of a hostel.
Police were called to a hostel in Kings Cross to break up this rooftop social gathering, where revellers were visibly flouting social distancing rules
The footage, obtained by Channel Seven, shows a group of 11 revellers surrounded by cans and glass bottles, clearly defying the 1.5metre distancing and two-person gathering rules.
NSW Police confirmed officers attended the hostel at about 7.15pm in response to a ‘noise complaint’.
Police were seen in the footage moving through the hostel before breaking up the social gathering.
‘Police spoke to and reminded to management and guests of the social distancing obligations in accordance with ministerial directions under Public Health Act,’ a spokeswoman told Daily Mail Australia.
‘No further action was taken.’
Young people kick a soccer ball while other sunbathe on the grass at Sydney’s Bondi Beach on Tuesday
Earlier on Tuesday, police were out in force at Greenhills Beach at Cronulla, Sydney’s south, where fitness fanatics spotted using off-limits outdoor gym equipment were issued with warnings.
In the city’s east, crowds of sunbathers were told to move on at Bondi while at Rushcutters Bay Park, five police cars were used to disperse crowds.
The officers did not leave their cars while telling groups sitting on the grass they were violating the new public health restrictions.
A NSW Police spokeswoman was unaware of the number of warnings issued across Sydney on Tuesday.
New restrictions on gatherings and movements which ban people from leaving home without a reasonable excuse, but this did not deter sunbakers at Mackenzies Bay (pictured)
NSW Police Commissioner Mick Fuller hasn’t ruled out even tougher restrictions.
‘We’re prepared … I’d much rather work with the community,’ he told Seven News.
Federal Liberal MP Jason Falinski has expressed concern on how the current restrictions are being policed in NSW.
‘This is a major infringement on a free and fair society and we can’t endure that for long,’ Mr Falinski told The Australian.
‘I think parks are pretty low-hanging fruit. You cannot have in a free society the movement of people being subject to confinement and monitoring in that way. It is an anathema to the country that we live in.’
Mr Falinski called for more policing of businesses and locations where the social distancing rules were being ignored, including backpacker hostels.
‘The beaches, the backpackers, the bigger ones,’ he said.
Meanwhile, NSW Health authorities are ramping up coronavirus testing in Sydney’s eastern suburbs where clusters of the disease have developed within the backpacker community.
Waverley Council, which takes in Bondi, has the highest number of cases of any Sydney local government area.
The figure has jumped up by a third from 105 to 140 in the last five days.
At least 21 cases came from an unknown source of infection.
There were 2032 coronavirus cases in NSW on Tuesday, an increase of 114 on the previous day. The statewide death toll remains at eight.
It was the second consecutive day of a fall in the number of disease confirmations.
But NSW chief health officer Dr Kerry Chant said that may reflect reduced testing over the weekend.
Some 35 of the infected people are in intensive care.
‘Obviously, access to GPs over the weekend may have accounted for it,’ Dr Chant told reporters on Tuesday.
‘I’m just very cautious in interpreting the numbers because I know it has to be interpreted in the context of the testing rates.’
NSW Health is now directing doctors in Sydney’s Waverley Council area – which includes suburbs such as Bondi – to send more patients for COVID-19 testing.
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian urged people to remain home unless it was essential to go out, while gatherings of more than two people – apart from immediate family – indoors and outdoors are banned.
Police issued warnings to fitness fanatics using the off-limits outdoor gym equipment at Greenhills Beach in Cronulla on Tuesday
People in their 20s and 30s were the worst offenders when it came to flouting social isolation rules, she added.
The premier reiterated it was too soon to know if NSW had successfully ‘flattened the curve’ after a series of shutdown measures.
‘What’s of concern to all of us is the unknown, that level of community-to-community transmission. That’s the real threat – people walking around without symptoms, not realising they have this disease,’ Ms Berejiklian said.
Commissioner Mick Fuller has warned police will no longer issue cautions for those flouting self-isolation rules and instead hand out $1000 on-the-spot fines.
Police can also arrest and charge people who repeatedly ignore health orders, which could incur a maximum penalty of six months in prison.
Crowds of sunbakers are spotted on the rocks at Mackenzies Bay in Sydney’s east on Tuesday
REVEALED: The 16 different reasons you can give police to escape being given $11,000 fines for leaving your home while coronavirus restrictions are in place
There are 16 different reasons police will accept if they pull you up for being outside while coronavirus restrictions are in place.
The new rules have been introduced to slow the spread of coronavirus, and each Australian state and territory has different fines for breaking the rules.
New South Wales has some of the toughest penalties, and anyone caught flouting the rules in the state could be fined up to $11,000.
However, you can dodge a fine if you have a ‘reasonable excuse’ for leaving your home.
The NSW Government has identified 16 acceptable excuses for leaving your home during the next month, which includes getting food, going to work or dropping kids off at school.
There are 16 different reasons police will accept if they pull you up for being outside while coronavirus restrictions are in place, one excuses is attending a wedding (Pictured: newlyweds posing for a photo in Sydney)
Exercising is also an acceptable reason for leaving your home, as is attending a wedding or a funeral.
Police can’t fine you if you are moving house or on your way to donate blood.
People in NSW can be fined $11,000 for leaving their homes without a ‘reasonable excuse’ under an emergency directive signed on Monday night.
They could also be given a $5,500 fine for each day they continue to break the rules, the emergency directive states.
The NSW Government is urging the community to keep social gatherings to a minimum and obey new regulations as the state boasts the highest number of coronavirus cases in the country.
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said people in their 20s and 30s were the worst offenders when it came to flouting social isolation rules.
She implored them not to put the vulnerable at risk.
Unless there is a significant and unexpected spike in COVID-19 cases in the state, the current restrictions will not be revised for a month, she said.
‘Health experts have told us they’d like to maintain the restrictions we’ve put in place for at least the next month and then assess,’ she said on Monday.
While many classrooms are empty across the country, you can still get away with leaving your home if you are dropping your kids to school (pictured: An empty classroom in Brisbane)
Grocery shopping is also an acceptable excuse for leaving your home – hoarding toilet paper is not (pictured: People receiving toilet paper, paper towel and pasta as a police officer watches on at Coles Supermarket, Epping in Sydney)
NSW Police Commissioner Mick Fuller said police would no longer issue cautions for those flouting self-isolation rules – instead $1000 on-the-spot fines would be handed out.
Police could also arrest and charge those repeatedly ignoring health orders, with a maximum penalty of six months in prison.
A Sydney man is already behind bars for allegedly ignoring his home self-quarantine twice on Saturday before trying to leave the serviced apartment in which he had been confined.
The number of confirmed NSW coronavirus cases on Monday rose to 1918, an increase of 127 on the previous day.
Twenty-six NSW coronavirus patients are in intensive care.
New South Wales has some of the toughest penalties, with anyone caught flouting the rules risking a fine up to $11,000 or six months in jail (Pictured: People socialising at a park)
Tougher social distancing rules have been introduced to stop people from congregating in groups during the coronavirus pandemic (Pictured: People at Bondi Beach in mid-March)
The number of confirmed NSW cases from the Ruby Princess cruise ship, meanwhile, jumped to 189 on Monday, including three seriously ill crew members who were evacuated from the ship to a Sydney hospital.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the states ‘aren’t mucking around’ when it comes to enforcing the new rules.
‘They’re very, very serious. And states like New South Wales and Victoria will move further down onto those two person rules, is my understanding,’ he said.
‘But states and territories will make their own announcements about those issues.’
The two-person limit doesn’t apply to workplaces, offices, schools and households.
It applies to all indoor settings, including private properties and homes.
People who live alone can only invite one friend over, while households of two people or more can’t have any visitors.
A family split across two houses can meet in private, allowing people to visit their partner, siblings or parents.
The prime minister urged all Australians to only leave their homes to buy essential supplies, to exercise, to attend personal medical appointments and to go to work or school – if unable to work or obtain an education from home.
‘Every single Australian needs to take this seriously or community transmission could get out of control and we could have a situation as terrible as even they are seeing in the US at the moment,’ he said.
Mr Morrison also strongly advised that anyone over 70 stay home for their own safety, except for going for a daily walk in the fresh air.
‘States and territories will term whether they proceed to make this an enforceable limit in the same way that the 10-person limit is already been enforced,’ he said.
Mr Morrison made it clear the advice about gatherings of more than two people was for all circumstances, not just for social occasions in homes.
‘That provides, importantly, for those who may be getting daily exercise, particularly for women, that they wouldn’t be required to walk on their own and they be able to be walk with another person,’ he said.