The police, reinforced by the military, roam the empty streets of west Sydney, making sure the tough lockdown is adhered to in some of Australia’s most immigrant neighborhoods, where Covid-19 infections are greatest.
About three-quarters of New South Wales’ nearly 5,000 active cases come from nine Sydney local government counties, with sprawl stretching from about 12 km (7.5 miles) southwest of the Sydney Harbor Bridge to the foothills of the Blue Mountains .
To the east, however, on the sandy beach of Bondi Beach, one of Sydney’s richest suburbs, surfers and beach walkers jostle for space, while joggers clog the nearby boardwalk and fitness fans crowd for public exercise equipment.
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As Australia’s largest city struggles to contain its worst pandemic outbreak, tougher restrictions and policing have fueled resentment in the hardest-hit neighborhoods. That feeling has been especially harsh since the Bondi Delta eruption began with an exposed, unvaccinated airport driver.
Although the entire city of 5 million people on the east coast is off-limits, around 1.8 million in its ethnically diverse west are prohibited from leaving their immediate vicinity and doing personal work. Authorized workers must be tested every three days, and masking is required outside of homes.
The rest of the city gets by with permitted building and property maintenance, fewer restrictions on movement and freedom from masks in the open air. Schools that have been closed citywide since June are returning everywhere but the west.
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“So basically double standards. One rule applies to the west, one rule to the east, and another rule to the north. It is difficult. But what do we do? ”Said restaurant owner Abdul Eldick. He has owned a Lebanese restaurant for 12 years.
Restaurants across town are banned from seating for customers and rely on take-out to survive, but the lower income in the west, coupled with restricted mobility, has severely affected sales.
“I don’t need the government’s money. I can make my own money, just give me my business back, “Eldick said.
The west, where three-quarters of the population of some suburbs were born overseas, contributes about 7% to the economy of A $ 1.6 trillion ($ 1.2 trillion), according to Business Western Sydney (GVA). an industry association. Before the lockdowns, three-quarters of the region’s 1 million workers were leaving their neighborhoods every day to find work.
The residents of Bondi, who went through a tough lockdown last year, were compassionate.
“I feel terrible about them. I think it’s really tough and like I said I think there are a lot of people out there who have to go to work. They do a lot more, a kind of construction site job, hospitality. ”Jobs and that’s tough. If you’re wondering where the rent is coming from, you have to go out and do things, “said Ben Peacock, a Bondi resident.
Bilal El-Hayek, a councilor from the west of the city, now spends most of his days with his friend Amer Yassine, a laid-off travel agent, delivering food packages to people who are not eligible for pandemic-related benefits.
“We also have to keep in mind that the people we supply have some, some of whom have no one, so we’re the only contact they have for the whole week or day,” said El-Hayek. He goes to see those in need five days a week to see how they are doing and to make sure they have enough to eat.
On Monday (Aug. 9), New South Wales extended its Covid-19 lockdown to the rural town of Tamworth amid concerns the virus may have spread to the countryside from Sydney. The state reported 283 locally acquired cases of Covid-19 in the past 24 hours, up from 262 cases the day before.
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