A video has just surfaced on social media showing hundreds of Australians ignoring all instructions about social distancing and crowding the Sydney International Airport.
The video was shot by a pilot who highlighted how people were standing at a touching distance in the immigration queue even though health authorities in Australia and worldwide have been suggesting to stand at least one and a half meters apart to help restrict the spread of the virus.
The majority of the international flights are suspended but planes reached Australia from Doha, Tokyo, and Shanghai.
The pilot filming the video was simply “angry and disappointed” to see three to four hundred people packed shoulder to shoulder in a single room, he told Daily Mail Australia.
He eventually went to an Australian Border Force officer and spoke about the issue.
Speaking of his confrontation, he told Daily Mail Australia: “I asked him, are you aware of the national guidelines for social distancing? He said ‘yeah.’
“Then he shrugged his shoulders and said ‘that’s not my problem.’”
The Australian government is instructing the people coming from abroad to self-isolate themselves for 14 days and there is a temporary ban on international travel for Australians.
The video was shared on Twitter with a caption saying “I’m livid” by the pilot’s friend Sally Prosser, who is a broadcast voice coach.
Among the people who took serious notice of the video is the senator from New South Wales, Mark Lachman.
“How is it that a bunch of people can get marched off Bondi beach by police, but Border Force can allow a whole bunch of people at the airport to not observe social distancing and then march into Australia without even a temperature check,” the senator said in a statement to Sydney radio 2SM.
“We had a very big advantage over everyone else in being an island, but we aren’t using that advantage.”
Even though there are signs all over the Sydney airport suggesting people maintain social distancing, people in the rows are not following the instructions at all, noted the pilot who shot the video.
The pilot said: “I’m just furious given that coronavirus is in our country from international travelers – via a cruise ship or airplane.
“Here we are and federal officers are playing no part whatsoever in keeping peoples’ distance. It’s just another example of people not playing their part in social distancing,’ said the pilot.
“If we don’t get a hold of these increased numbers of cases, we’re all going into lockdown.”
Kristina Keneally, a spokesperson for Labor home affairs, tweeted: “These are concerning reports and images.
“The Government – specifically Peter Dutton- needs to explain what is going on here, what protocols are in place at airports, and what directions are being given to (the Border Force).”
Sydney airport is doing all that is in its power to cope with the corona situation.
They have displayed social distancing signs, increased the number of hand sanitizer dispensers and have started using hospital-grade disinfectants.
The airport’s spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia: “Every single passenger that arrives is spoken to about their obligations.
“We have signs all over the airport, more than one-hundred digital screens, and have flooded our social media channels with messages about social-distancing.
“We have security staff walking through the terminals, reminding people to comply. We need people to listen to and show responsibility.”
As of now, there are around 2,800 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Australia and the deadly epidemic has claimed 12 lives so far.
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