Sikhs deliver free meals to Melbourne public housing residents
Sikh volunteers have served 1,325 meals to residents of the Melbourne housing estates who were placed under sudden coronavirus lockdown.
More than 3,000 people have remained locked inside their flats after the Victorian Government imposed a hard lockdown on nine public housing towers in Flemington and North Melbourne, which applies until at least Wednesday.
The Sikh Volunteers Australia team arrived at the buildings on Sunday evening to serve free food to the tenants with the help of Victoria Police and Victorian Department of Health and Human Services.
The volunteers delivered the meals with no contact. “We are not making any direct contact with anyone. We leave food on the table, people come there one by one and take food from there,” an organiser said, as quoted by the Daily Mail.
The volunteer group is set to continue the food delivery today.
It has previously provided food relief for communities across Victoria, including during bushfire crises.
Victorian Housing Minister Richard Wynne said he was “overwhelmed by the compassion” of people who sought to support the towers’ tenants.
“Presently my phone is running off the hook with people saying, ‘how can we help?’,” Wynne told reporters on Sunday.
“From the Lord Mayor of Melbourne to the City of Moonee Valley [and] Trades Hall, many numbers of people have said ‘we want to be able to help’.”
At least 27 COVID-19 cases have been identified across the towers.
The area is being monitored by 500 police officers per shift, SBS News reported. Royal Melbourne Hospital staff are also knocking doors to get every resident tested.
“I want to thank people personally for their profound sacrifice – by staying home and getting tested, you are making a real difference in keeping our state safe,” said Premier Daniel Andrews.