ACT Policing has made two arrests for alleged COVID-19 compliance breaches in the past 48 hours, and is reminding the community of the need to comply with check-in requirements.
The first arrest was made on Sunday afternoon, 1 August, after a woman allegedly refused to check-in at a Tuggeranong store after multiple requests to do so from the store manager and attending police. The woman appeared in court yesterday.
The second arrest was made yesterday afternoon, Monday 2 August, after police responded to a report that two people had travelled directly to Canberra from Sydney.
Police initially spoke to a 36-year-old Minto (NSW) man and a young person on Sunday, at which time the pair denied they were in breach of public health directions. Further investigations indicated that they had travelled to the ACT from the Greater Sydney Region on Friday 30 July and had received advice not to travel to the ACT prior to their arrival.
The man was arrested on Monday afternoon, and bailed to appear in court at a later date. Both the man and the young person were given a formal direction to leave the ACT; they have complied with this direction.
These arrests bring the total number of people arrested for breaches of COVID19 Public Health Directions in the ACT since March 2020 to six.
In ongoing compliance activity, in the week to 8am Sunday 1 August, ACT Policing conducted 674 in-person compliance checks of homes, hotels and businesses, and stopped 1,877 drivers to speak with them about the current health orders. Five cautions were issued and six people were directed to leave the ACT.
ACT Policing COVID-19 Taskforce Superintendent Naomi Binstead thanked the community for their ongoing compliance and cooperation with the public health directions.
“Canberrans by and large continue to check-in at shops and follow stay-at-home or quarantine directions as required by the ACT Chief Health Officer,” said Detective Superintendent Binstead.
“I would like to remind people to report non-compliance directly to police, especially if an immediate attendance by police is required, not via social media.
“Importantly, if you believe you may be a close contact of a person who has travelled from a COVID-19 affected area, please make this initial contact by phone.”
For the most recent information on the ACT’s COVID-19 restrictions, visit the ACT COVID-19 site.
For general enquiries, including to make reports of non-compliance, contact the COVID-19 Helpline on 6207 7244 (8am-8pm, 7 days a week). For police assistance call 131 444 and only contact Triple Zero (000) for emergencies.
