3 August 2021

Man from Sydney arrested for alleged COVID travel breach

| Lottie Twyford
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Police car

The 36-year-old Minto man was bailed to appear at a later date. Photo: ACT Policing.

A man from Sydney has become the second person arrested in 48 hours for alleged non-compliance with COVID-19 health orders.

The 36-year-old man from Minto (NSW) and a young person were spoken to by ACT Policing on Sunday (1 August). They initially denied being in breach of any public health directions.

However, upon further investigation, it was revealed that they had travelled to the ACT from the Greater Sydney Region on Friday (30 July), despite having already received advice not to travel to the ACT before their arrival.

He was subsequently arrested on Monday afternoon (2 August) after police responded to a report that the two people had travelled directly to Canberra from Sydney.

Both the man and the young person were given a formal direction to leave the ACT. They have since complied with this direction.

The man has been bailed to appear in court at a later date.

This followed the arrest made on Sunday afternoon (1 August) after a woman allegedly refused to check-in at a Tuggeranong store after multiple requests to do so from the store manager and attending police.

She appeared in court yesterday.

These arrests bring the total number of people arrested for breaches of COVID-19 Public Health Directions in the ACT since March 2020 to six.

In ongoing compliance activity, in the week prior to the morning of Sunday, 1 August, ACT Policing conducted 674 in-person compliance checks of homes, hotels and businesses, and stopped 1,877 drivers to speak with them about the current health orders.

From this, five cautions were issued and six people were directed to leave the ACT.

ACT Policing continues to encourage the community to report incidents of non-compliance through the appropriate channels. They are also reminding Canberrans of the need to comply with check-in requirements.

READ ALSO Booking system overwhelmed by young people wanting the Pfizer jab

ACT Policing COVID-19 Taskforce Superintendent Naomi Binstead thanked the community for their ongoing compliance and cooperation with the public health directions.

According to Detective Superintendent Binstead, Canberrans are largely continuing to comply with health directions, including following stay-at-home or quarantine orders and checking in at shops as is required by the ACT Chief Health Officer.

“I would like to remind people to report non-compliance directly to police, especially if an immediate attendance by police is required, not via social media.

“Importantly, if you believe you may be a close contact of a person who has travelled from a COVID-19 affected area, please make this initial contact by phone,” she explained.

For the most recent information on the ACT’s COVID-19 restrictions, visit the ACT COVID-19 site.

For general enquiries – including to make reports of non-compliance, contact the COVID-19 Helpline on 6207 7244 (8:00 am to 8:00 pm, 7 days a week). For police assistance, call 131 444 and only contact Triple Zero (000) for emergencies.

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Milestone Entertainment12:30 am 05 Aug 21

Is it really that hard to see beyond self and consider the greater good?
At this point we all know the rules…at infinituim…it’s not exactly rocket science ??

You’d be crazy to believe this is the only person doing this.

Absolutely, Oiledpengu – like many offences (like, for example, drug smugglers) those caught are only the tip of the iceberg. Good to see they were dobbed in. I wonder what checks accommodation sites are undertaking in ACT to verify the home addresses of their patrons?

I am so tired of ignorant and selfish people travelling from Sydney to Canberra. Stop putting us at risk!

Agreed. It’s time to up the ante on these selfish ignoramuses and charge them with a criminal offence, such as reckless endangerment. Perhaps a few weeks in prison for one or two, might get the message out to those who think they can flaunt the law snd risk the health of the greater community.

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