Yahoo Finance Coronavirus Bondi: Outrage as house party shut down amid virus fears
Wild parties in Sydney’s exclusive eastern suburbs over the weekend have sparked anger among locals while evoking fears of a second wave of coronavirus in the city.
Video obtained by Nine News from Saturday night shows scores of partygoers at multiple addresses in Bondi – well exceeding the 20-person capacity enforced under current coronavirus restrictions.
With about 100 people crammed into the home, the scenes were akin to a busy nightclub and a far cry from the COVIDsafe world Prime Minister Scott Morrison envisaged when he delivered his three-step plan to exiting restrictions in May.
“Millennial morons,” one Twitter user described videos of partygoers ignoring social distancing orders.
“All those partygoers in Bondi need to be fined and locked up,” another declared.
The gathering later made its way outside, yet it did little for social distancing with the congestion among revellers still evident to see.
In a statement shared to Yahoo News Australia, NSW Police said a number of parties were shut down in the area, yet attendees were asked to move on instead of infringement notices handed out.
“Police would like to remind the community that the current Public Health Order restricts outdoor public gatherings or visitors to a home to not more than 20 people, after officers from Eastern Suburbs Police Area Command were called to a number of noise complaints in the area overnight,” the statement said.
Revellers had also taken to communal areas, with Cooper Park at Bellevue Hill, the location of a party, according to one local, showing signs of sex, drugs and alcohol the night before.
So much for social distancing. This was how #cooperpark in the #easternsuburbs was found this morning after a group of #COVIDIDIOTS decided to party there. Used condoms, pill bags, bottles, all next to a kids playground. The #goldensheaf has nothing on this. pic.twitter.com/jB8jO2j26G
— becca (@beccabelievit) July 12, 2020
“Used condoms, pill bags, bottles, all next to a kids playground,” she wrote on Twitter while sharing photos of rubbish strewn across the ground.
“So much for social distancing,” she said, labelling those in attendance “covidiots”.
Others lambasted the gathering as “disgraceful behaviour” while one person said those who caused the mess were “selfish contributors” to NSW’s impending second wave.
The parties come days after alarming scenes outside The Golden Sheaf pub in the eastern suburbs, where hundreds of patrons ignored social distancing as they lined up outside.
The pub has since been fined $5,500.
Fears of second wave in NSW as cluster grows
Medical experts are warning people to take the renewed coronavirus threat seriously, as the number of confirmed cases and deaths continues to rise.
"The message is the same for everybody. Do your part. Stop the spread," Deputy Chief Medical Officer Michael Kidd told ABC on Monday.
NSW has also recorded more cases, with nine now linked to The Crossroads Hotel on the Hume Highway in Casula, including an 18-year-old staffer.
Dr Kidd said the the number of cases related to the popular truckies' stop had gone up overnight on Monday, but authorities were yet to provide an updated number.
"It is very important that anyone who was connected with that hotel does lockdown," he said.
"This is a really important issue for everyone across the country."
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said the state had the opportunity to clamp down on community transmission, which was why the number of overseas flights would be capped and people would be charged for hotel quarantining.
"Without using the obvious pun, we are definitely at a crossroads in NSW," she told reporters on Sunday.
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