Australia to use military to enforce Sydney lockdown

The Australian government will deploy hundreds of soldiers to help enforce the hardcore lockdown of Sydney as the country struggles under the grip of a modest rise in COVID cases.

Soldiers will join police to patrol Sydney neighborhoods starting on Monday. Many will reportedly be knocking on doors to ensure that residents are remaining homebound under the lockdown. 

The soldiers will reportedly be unarmed. They are necessary become some residents of the city thought “the rules didn't apply to them," New South Wales Police Minister David Elliott said this week. 

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrision urged residents to “get vaccinated,” and said that any resident who gets vaccinated will be governed by “special rules.”

“Why? Because if you're vaccinated, you present less of a public health risk,” he said.