NSW Premier meets community stakeholders before major COVID-19 police operation in south-west Sydney

The Premier of NSW has met privately with key multicultural leaders from Sydney's south-west following the announcement of a major police operation which has drawn criticism. Key points: This is the first COVID-19 police operation of such magnitude to target a specific area in Sydney Lakemba MP Jihad Dib said strong-arming the community wasn't the answer The Lebanese Muslim Association president said this "disproportionate" response could have harmful results At 7:00am on Friday, more than 100 extra police officers will be deployed around south-western Sydney to ensure compliance with health orders as COVID-19 spreads through several suburbs in the area. Lebanese Muslim Association president Samier Dandan said the police hadn't cracked down as hard on other areas in the past and this "disproportionate" response would have harmful impacts. "We would have appreciated a much more balanced response and something that is more in line with their response to communities elsewhere who had similar clusters.” NSW COVID-19 exposure sites Photo shows lines of cars parked Billy's Cars a dealership in Revesby and supermarkets across Sydney's south west have all been added to the growing COVID-19 exposure sites list in NSW.