SYDNEY, July 30 (Xinhua) -- While the local COVID-19 transmission in the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW) continued, state police force said they had to "expect" a protest this weekend again.
NSW on Friday recorded 170 new locally acquired cases of COVID-19 in the 24 hours to 8:00 p.m. local time Thursday, among which the source of infection for 93 cases is under investigation.
NSW Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant said that it was possible somebody who had attended last weekend's protests had been infectious.
She said no documented cases of COVID-19 had been noted as having attended the protest, but that people could have not revealed their presence. "They did not know they had COVID".
NSW Police Force Commissioner Mick Fuller told local media Channel 9 that police had to expect a protest this weekend. He warned that people protesting anywhere in Sydney over the weekend will be met by "up to 1,000 police".
"If you think you can splinter from that and protest somewhere else in Greater Sydney, that force will be mobile and will be waiting for you. You have been given plenty of warnings," He said.
He said the strike force investigating last week's protests had so far "locked up" 60 people and issued more than 200 infringement notices, and he expected that number to grow.
"If you turn up, you can expect the same sense of force," Fuller added.
Meanwhile, Fuller confirmed on Thursday that he had made a formal request to the federal government for Australian Defence Force (ADF) assistance with the ongoing COVID-19 compliance operation, requesting for 300 ADF personnel to boost the operational capacity of NSW Police. Enditem
