State Emergency Operations Controller, NSW Police Force Commissioner Mick Fuller, is urging community compliance after mandatory quarantine measures came into effect today.
\nFrom this morning (Sunday 29 March 2020), anyone entering Australia is subject to a ministerial direction requiring them to self-isolate immediately on arrival for 14 days.
\nNSW Police Force is working with a number of state and federal agencies including NSW Health, Australian Border Force (ABF), Australian Federal Police (AFP) and Australian Defence Force (ADF), to ensure this direction is adhered to.
\nAll arrivals over the coming days will be provided with comfortable accommodation and will be able to stay in touch with family and friends over the phone and internet.
\nNSW Police and Emergency Services Minister David Elliott said this was a vital step in reducing the spread of COVID-19.
\n\u201cThe data shows more than 60% of cases across the state are returned travellers,\u201d Mr Elliott said.
\n\u201cWe need to ensure these individuals aren\u2019t bringing COVID-19 home before we allow them to have close contact with other members of the community.
\n\u201cThis virus is incredibly virulent, and is continuing to spread, threatening our elderly and vulnerable members of the population.
\n\u201cThese measures are absolutely necessary to ensure we do our best to stop the spread.\u201d
\nCommissioner Fuller said officers would be enforcing the quarantine period and would not hesitate to use the appropriate action against individuals who do not comply.
\n\u201cAnyone who doesn\u2019t comply will be breaking the law \u2013 it\u2019s as simple as that. People need to take this seriously,\u201d Commissioner Fuller said.
\n\u201cThis is an unprecedented operation and I would urge recent arrivals to help police in their efforts to protect the state by complying with these new restrictions.
\n\u201cWhile most people in NSW are adhering to the government\u2019s health directions, there is still a small minority of irresponsible individuals who continue to flout the rules and put others at risk.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s because of them that need to have these types of restrictions in place.\u201d
\nCommissioner Fuller said significant care was being taken to ensure those in quarantine remained comfortable for the duration of their self-isolation period.
\n\u201cThe NSW Police Force and our government partners have dedicated significant resources to ensure these individuals are provided with comfortable accommodation and are able to stay in touch with family and friends,\u201d Commissioner Fuller said.
\n\u201cAll arrivals will be provided with comprehensive information regarding their obligations and what they are\/aren\u2019t allowed to do.
\n\u201cI understand this is unprecedented, and that people would rather be at home. But we are dealing with an unprecedented situation, and we need to adapt accordingly.
\n\u201cMy priority has always been, and will continue to be, the safety of the community in NSW.\u201d
\nAnyone found to be in contravention of a ministerial direction is subject to heavy penalties, which can include Personal Infringement Notices (PINs) of $1000 for individuals and $5000 for businesses.
\nCourt Attendance Notices (CANs) can also be issued, which carry a maximum penalty of an $11,000 fine and\/or jail time.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
State Emergency Operations Controller, NSW Police Force Commissioner Mick Fuller, is urging community compliance after mandatory quarantine measures came into effect today. From this morning (Sunday 29 March 2020), anyone entering Australia is subject to a ministerial direction requiring them to self-isolate immediately on arrival for 14 days. NSW Police Force is working with a … Continue reading “Commissioner Fuller urges compliance as mandatory quarantine comes into effect”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5713","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-nswnews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5713","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5713"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5713\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5713"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5713"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5713"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}