EXCLUSIVE: Fed-up Sydneysiders spray death threat to Gladys Berejiklian on the side of a train as tensions boil over at ultra-lockdown in city's western suburbs
- Frustrated Sydneysiders send death threat to NSW Premier on side of city train
- Angry residents graffitied the train with the words 'Kill Gladys Hazzard' in red
- The train is believed to have travelled from Bankstown in city's ground zero areas
- Residents in 12 LGA's of concern under strictest lockdown orders in the state
Frustrated Sydneysiders have unleashed their fury at the NSW premier by sending her a death threat on the side of a city train, as tensions hit a breaking point in Sydney's Covid-hit western suburbs.
The hateful words 'Kill Gladys Hazzard' offer a worrying insight into rising discontent felt by residents in the 12 local councils enduring an ultra-hard lockdown.
The train arrived from Bankstown, meaning the carriage would have been graffitied in the ground zero areas of Campbeltown or Liverpool, where it spent the night.
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian and Health Minister Brad Hazzard, the targets of the vandalism, are held responsible for the punishing conditions in the west.
The angry resident behind the graffiti is believed to reside in Sydney's Covid-hit south or southwest as the city train arrived from Bankstown
Gladys Berejiklian (pictured) has been targeted by an angry Sydneysider who spray-painted cruel death threat to the NSW Premier on the side of a city train
People who live in the western suburbs must abide by stricter rules than the rest of Sydney, with masks to be worn at all times outdoors, and authorised workers the only people permitted to leave their homes.
A heavy police presence has been deployed in these Covid-ravaged areas of Sydney to ensure residents are complying with the strict health orders.
Police blockades and congregations of military officials are in stark contrast to enforcement in other areas of the city, where daily case numbers are substantially lower and there is less community transmission.
Residents in western Sydney told Daily Mail Australia they were frustrated at journalists who live outside the area constantly demanding 'tougher' restrictions.
'They need to come here and have a look at what's happening here before demand even tougher restrictions,' a father-of-two from Granville said.
'It's very tough here already - kids can't even play at the park. I'll bet their kids are running free and doing whatever they want.
'If we get tougher restrictions - they need them as well. After all, this outbreak started in Sydney's eastern suburbs, everyone knows that.'
The words 'Kill Gladys Hazzard' were written in red spray paint across the city train
A heavy police presence in Sydney's western suburbs has been deployed to ensure residents are complying with strict lockdown orders (pictured, a resident and police in Bankstown)
On the busy Hume Highway in Guildford, one of the areas of significant concern, locals claim police checkpoints were stopping cars trying to leave the area.
NSW Police said there were several checkpoints set up throughout Sydney in a desperate attempt to keep residents in their local government areas and stem the spread of the Delta outbreak.
It comes after a respiratory physician in one of western Sydney's biggest hospitals revealed the six reasons why he believed transmission of the virus was running rampant in the west and southwest.
The top doctor argued the current outbreak had been triggered by a combination of language barriers, convoluted messaging from health officials and a general reluctance to get tested due to the consequences of a positive result.
This is because so many workers in the city's south-west and west rely on daily income to keep their families afloat and often work in critical industries that can't work from home.
He added an underlying distrust of police and the government, the amount of occupants in homes and a lack of messaging from trusted local leaders had intensified the rapid spread of the virus in the city's ground-zero areas.
Police blockades and congregations of military officials in Sydney's west and southwest are in stark contrast to enforcement in other areas of the city, where daily case numbers are substantially lower and there is less community transmission (pictured, a couple in Seven Hills)
Earlier this month, the NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard (pictured) said people from 'other backgrounds' did not think it necessary to comply with the law
Earlier this month, the NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard said people from 'other backgrounds' were not obeying public health orders.
When asked about whether residents of south-west and western Sydney were complying with the strict stay-at-home orders, Mr Hazzard said there were pockets of Sydney that still were not.
'Probably something in order of 95 per cent, a high percentage, of people are complying,' Mr Hazzard said on Tuesday.
'There are other communities and people from other backgrounds who don't seem to think that it is necessary to comply with the law and who don't really give great consideration to what they do in terms of its impact on the rest of the community.
'I do say to them, you need to because otherwise the forces of the law are coming after you.'
Mr Hazzard said it was scofflaws in Sydney's southwest and west who are keeping case numbers high, resulting in a lockdown across Sydney.
'No matter what legal order or what legal requirements are in place you just can't legislate against stupidity, arrogance and entitlement,' Mr Hazzard said.
'If they complied with the rule and the law and they applied an element of common sense and a modicum of decency to the rest of the community, we would be fine.
On Wednesday, Premier Gladys Berejiklian warned the worst was yet to come for the city after almost eight weeks spent in lockdown (pictured, police and ADF are seen in Bankstown)
Bankstown residents flocked to Covid testing centres on Wednesday after Premier Gladys Berejiklian revealed a record 633 new Covid cases (pictured, people in Bankstown)
Meanwhile the state recorded a pandemic-record of 681 new cases of coronavirus on Thursday - including 59 who were infectious in the community.
On Wednesday, Premier Gladys Berejiklian warned the worst was yet to come for the city after almost eight weeks spent in lockdown.
'What the data is telling us in the last few days is that we haven't seen the worst of it,' she said.
Of the 633 new cases recorded on Wednesday, about 550 are young people and workers in Sydney's areas of concern in the west and southwestern suburbs.
The transmission of the virus to household contacts remains the leading cause of infection in these areas.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian specifically called out residents in Merrylands, Guildford, Auburn, Greenacre, Yagoona, St Marys and Strathfield, urging them to 'stay at home' and not visit other households.
Police and soldiers are also assisting residents seeking a vaccination or Covid test, and are stationed at hospitals and clinics to direct people to where they need to be (pictured, ADF personnel assist people as they check into the Qudos Bank Arena vaccination clinic)
Military personnel and police are stationed at checkpoints throughout the city, with a particular focus on suburbs where Covid is spreading faster (pictured, a woman shopping in Blacktown)
'Stay at home. Don't break the rules, everybody knows what they mean. Just a small number of people are choosing to ignore what the rules are,' she said.
Ms Berejiklian is also hoping a vaccination blitz inside Covid ground zero will help to reduce transmission and contribute to lowering case numbers - though immunity won't take hold for at least another two weeks.
Some 530,000 Pfizer jabs have been allocated to the 12 LGA's of concern in an effort to drive down the rate of infection in those areas.
Those eligible for the jab must be aged between 16-39 years of age and live in Bayside, Blacktown, Burwood, Campbelltown, Canterbury-Bankstown, Cumberland, Fairfield, Georges River, Liverpool, Parramatta or Strathfield.
Residents in the locked down suburbs of the Penrith LGA are also eligible.
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