Australia's Minister of Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs has threatened to cancel the visas of any visitors caught breaking rules designed to prevent the spread of Covid-19 in the country, after hundreds of people attended a beach party in Sydney's Bronte Beach on Christmas Day.
Sydney Christmas beach party sparks backpacker deportation threat from Australian immigration minister kctv5.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from kctv5.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
03:25 EDT, 2 January 2021
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The Christmas Day backpackers party that authorities say had the potential to be a super-spreader event grew into a huge gathering after the mostly foreign attendees sent messages inviting more and more friends to the escalating event.
Hundreds of partygoers gathered on Bronte Beach in Sydney s east on December 25, dancing and drinking on top of each other on a grassed area before being moved on by NSW Police.
While most separated and left the beach when asked, one 25-year-old man refused, and he will now face court in the new year.
The party came amid a growing outbreak of Covid-19 in the city - and infuriated Sydneysiders who fear it could lead to a spike in cases and another lockdown in the city.
Australia s Immigration Minister Alex Hawke says foreign visitors caught flouting public health restrictions could be deported as new outbreaks of Covid continue.
Health workers perform Covid-19 tests at a drive-through testing centre at Bondi Beach in Sydney on December 20, 2020.
Photo: AFP / Steven Saphore
Hawke said he was shocked by scenes at Sydney s Bronte Beach on Christmas Day, where young revellers partied in breach of coronavirus regulations.
Witnesses said many of them were British. Sydney is battling a worsening community outbreak - with 147 local cases confirmed.
The re-appearance of the virus a week before Christmas sparked clampdowns on holiday gatherings and a lockdown of the worst-affected region, the Northern Beaches.
The World Health Organisation is unsure if the spread of new COVID-19 variants, which developed in the UK and South Africa, could undermine vaccine rollouts.