Australia: soldiers called in to enforce containment
Sydney thoroughfare deserted after new containment was declared.
REUTERS - LOREN ELLIOTT
Text by: RFI Follow
3 min
In Sydney, the army will be deployed in some neighborhoods most affected by the Covid-19 epidemic, to ensure that the containment and the various restrictions in place are well respected.
A measure which is controversial and which is denounced by some local elected officials.
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With our correspondent in Sydney
,
Grégory Plesse
The sound of boots echoing in the deserted streets of one of
Australia's
largest cities
, the two million inhabitants of eight Sydney neighborhoods, which concentrate the majority of
Covid-19 cases
, will hear it very significantly from Monday.
The local authorities have in fact decided to deploy 300 soldiers called in to reinforce the police, to help them
enforce the confinement.
The agglomeration of five million inhabitants is in its fifth week of confinement.
This measure should last until the end of August.
During this period, residents are only supposed to be able to leave their homes to play sports, to go to work if their job is deemed essential, for medical reasons or to do their shopping.
"
Extreme
"
measures
The main objective is to double the checks at home.
Up to 2,000 checks per day will be able to be carried out in order to ensure that those who are supposed to be in isolation are indeed, but also that the ban on receiving visitors, even if it is acts of relatives, is well respected.
But symbolically, the measure is considered shocking by some.
“
These measures are just extreme.
We restrict our movements to a perimeter of 5 km, we bring in the army… (My constituents) deserve better than that
”, indignant Steve Christou, the mayor of Cumberland who testifies on
Channel 7
.
To clear the land, authorities in New South Wales have specified that these soldiers will not be armed.
And in addition that the army had also been deployed in Melbourne last year, for exactly the same reasons, that had besides “
made it possible to boost the operational capacities and made that the police had carried out more checks
”, defends itself. the police.
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Australia
Coronavirus
Confinement