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'NO social distancing': Massive crowd gathers at Coles for car show

Masses of people appeared to breach coronavirus social distancing rules while attending a car show in the parking lot of a western Sydney Coles.

A swarm of people were captured mingling in the car park in front of Coles at Kellyville Village in Kellyville, in the city’s northwest, on Sunday morning.

It’s understood they were there for the August gathering of the Kellyville Coffee and Cars show - an event usually held on the first Sunday of every month between 7am and 9am.

An online advertisement stated that it was “open to anyone who appreciates cars, bikes and trucks”.

There appeared to be crowds of people mingling within close proximity. Source: Twitter/RandaAFattah
There appeared to be crowds of people mingling within close proximity. Source: Twitter/RandaAFattah

According to posts to its Facebook community group, events in previous months had been cancelled.

However, the latest seemingly went ahead despite current regulations restricting gatherings of more than 20 people and requiring people in public to maintain social distancing.

“Hi all, not much has changed since last month. We can still only gather in public in groups of less than 20 people and it looks like this will not increase anytime soon,” a post to the page on Friday read.

“So, if you are going to meet up as a group, make sure you social distance, follow the health advice and keep to less than 20 people.”

Some men were seen huddling at the front of cars on display. Source: Twitter/RandaAFattah
Some men were seen huddling at the front of cars on display. Source: Twitter/RandaAFattah

A witness reported that there were “large groups of people huddled together” at the event, and claimed there was “NO social distancing”.

“Because this is not a Black Lives Matter protest there are NO police, no arrests, no court orders, no media headlines, no health concerns,” they wrote in a post to Twitter.

Photos taken by the witness showed several people, likely more than 20, mingling in close proximity to each other while not wearing face coverings.

Many cars were on display, with smaller groups seen chatting and huddling around some of them.

Attendees were described “stupid” by outraged social media users who left fiery replies to the tweet.

The car park seemed full of people despite a 20-person gathering limit on outdoor events. Source: Twitter/RandaAFattah
The car park seemed full of people despite a 20-person gathering limit on outdoor events. Source: Twitter/RandaAFattah

“Events like these should not be happening. Markets and fairs are happening all over the state. People will not stay home if there are opportunities to do things. Essentials only,” one wrote.

“Now we sit back and wait for the infections that will be traced back to Kellyville Coles carpark,” another said.

A third simply questioned: “How stupid are these people?”.

Event organisers were contacted by Yahoo News Australia.

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