Shoppers in the heart of the Northern Beaches lockdown have been captured ignoring stay-at-home orders.
The Covid cluster which first appeared a week ago has now surpassed 100 cases and Sydney’s northern peninsula remains under strict lockdown orders as health authorities try to contain the outbreak.
Although Premier Gladys Berejiklian announced some restrictions would be eased to allow families to meet up for Christmas celebrations, there are still only four acceptable reasons to leave home – essential shopping, daily excessive, work and medical appointments.
Gathering in public is banned, along with dinning at eateries.
But locals at Westfield Warringah Mall Shopping Centre were seen on Thursday sitting in the food court of the complex enjoying takeaway lunches as they made their last-minute Christmas Eve purchases.
Shoppers at Westfield Warringah Mall Shopping Centre are pictured on December 24
New South Wales Police told the Sydney Morning Herald the tables and chairs were mistakenly put out by cleaning staff in breach of the lockdown rules.
Police said no Penalty Infringement Notices have been issued within the Northern Beaches Police Area Command at this stage.
‘The seating was put out by Centre Management security in error and have since been packed away,’ police said.
A Westfield Warringah Mall spokeswoman said they will address the issue and put up clearer signage to highlight the shopping centre’s Covid-Safe protocols.
‘Take away food service is permitted by our food court operators and seating is only provided for customer convenience and not for the consumption of food,’ she said.
‘Our customer experience team have been asking customers to move on.’
Westfield Warringah Mall Shopping Centre is pictured on December 14
While most Northern Beaches residents have been adhering to the stay-at-home orders, one woman breached the rules by travelling three hours down the coast.
The bizarre case saw a 37-year-old venture down the coastline to Sanctuary Point, a town in NSW, after being told her suburb of Bilgola would be in lockdown to manage the Covid-19 outbreak.
Police were alerted of the breach when the woman fainted at a pizza shop on Wednesday.
She was slapped with a $1,000 fine for breaking the lockdown.
The woman from Bilgola Plateau in the Northern Suburbs breached lockdown orders and travelled three hours to Sanctuary Point
The woman was taken to Shoalhaven Hospital and appeared to be suffering from Covid-19 symptoms but refused testing and left the hospital, police said.
Following an investigation, officers attended a home in Edmund Street, Sanctuary Point, and found the woman was staying with three others who were told to self-isolate.
Further inquiries confirmed the woman was from Bilgola Plateau, on the Northern Beaches, and had breached lockdown orders.
She was handed a $1,000 fine for failure to comply with the requirement of a public health order.
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The pizza shop has since closed to undergo a deep clean as a precaution.
People are seen lining up at a COVID-19 pop-up testing location at Avalon Recreation Centre on December 18
NSW recorded nine new locally-acquired Covid cases in the 24 hours to 8pm on Wednesday from a record of more than 60,000 tests.
Seven of the cases are linked to the 104-strong cluster on the northern beaches, while the sources of the other two infections are under investigation.
Gladys Berejiklian saying she ‘nearly fell off her chair’ when she heard of the scale of the testing blitz.
However, the NSW Premier on Thursday urged residents to limit how much they move around over Christmas, keep their gatherings small and dine outdoors if possible.
‘Apart from those close family gatherings, which we have allowed over the Christmas break, we don’t want people moving around unless you absolutely have to,’ she said.
‘We are asking the community to reassess any non-essential travel on Christmas Day. Really select the people you need to be there with, and space it out into the New Year.
‘We are far from out of the woods and in fact we have to be extra vigilant over the next few days.’
