Left-wing activist group GetUp! demands the government release 760 illegal immigrants to 'stop the spread of coronavirus'
- GetUp! wants government to release immigration detainees because of COVID
- Supporters being called on to bombard Acting Immigration Minister with emails
- Left-wing group argues Sydney, Melbourne corona clusters justified release
The lobby group for politically-progressive causes groups is urging Acting Immigration Minister Alan Tudge to allow asylum seekers to live in the community because detention centre security employees in Sydney and Melbourne had either tested positive to COVID-19 or were self isolating.
'A detention centre guard in Melbourne has tested positive for coronavirus, and potentially dozens of staff from the Villawood detention centre in Sydney are self-isolating after going to an event at the latest pub hot spot,' they said.
Sydney's south-west is already battling a coronavirus cluster with 34 cases now linked to the Crossroads Hotel at Casula - a 12km drive down the Hume Highway from the Villawood Immigration Detention Centre which is home to 427 detainees.
Left-wing activist group GetUp! is demanding the release of immigration detainees arguing this will stop them catching coronavirus from the guards. Pictured is a protest outside the Villawood immigration detention centre
Victoria meanwhile has been hit with 238 new cases of COVID-19 in just one day, with the explosion in cases in inner-city public housing blocks linked to Black Lives Matter protests in Melbourne in early June, which GetUp! endorsed.
A Broadmeadows immigration centre sits in one of 36 Melbourne suburbs which was last month deemed a coronavirus hot spot, leading to a city-wide lockdown in July.
This compound holds 333 detainees.
'For months thousands of medical professionals have warned about this exact situation, citing fears that if coronavirus makes it into the centres, it could spread rapidly and quickly become a public health crisis,' GetUp! said.
'This not only puts the lives of hundreds of refugees and asylum seekers at risk, but puts more pressure on the already strained healthcare system and workers.
'It's exactly what thousands of medical professionals warned us about.'
GetUp! is urging its supporters to bombard Mr Tudge with emails, following coronavirus outbreaks in Melbourne's north-west and Sydney's south-west, which are both home to immigration detention centres.
'The government has a duty to keep the women, children, and families in detention safe – make sure they know it,' it said.
Daily Mail Australia has contacted Mr Tudge for a response.
The lobby group for politically-progressive causes groups is urging Acting Immigration Minister Alan Tudge to allow asylum seekers to live in the community because detention centre security employees in Sydney and Melbourne had either tested positive to COVID-19 or were self isolating
Victoria has been hit with 238 new cases of COVID-19 in just one day, with the explosion in cases in inner-city public housing blocks linked to Black Lives Matter protests in Melbourne, which GetUp! endorsed. Pictured is a Black Lives Matter protest in Melbourne on June 6, 2020
