To the rest of Australia there is one Sydney - the city responsible for dragging the country back into another round of Covid lockdowns.
But to residents, there are two: the Covid epicentre in the west and south-west which is subject to curfews, onerous restrictions on movement and where troops patrol the streets; and the rest of the city where there are fewer cases and lockdown rules.
Those who live and work in the 12 'local government areas of concern' feel they are doing everything asked of them by authorities - they're staying off the streets and out of local shops, many of which are on life support as customers stay away.
They are even getting vaccinated at some of the highest rates in Australia.
That was acknowledged in Tuesday's daily briefing by NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian, announcing Blacktown had gone from one of the worst-performing suburbs for vaccinations to one of the best.
Their determination was on display again as hundreds ignored freezing temperatures and pouring rain to stream through vaccination hubs on Tuesday, including Sydney Olympic Park at Homebush.
'This is too important,' forklift driver and father-of-two Sukhwinder Singh told Daily Mail Australia as he waited for two hours in 10 degree temperatures and heavy rain for his wife to get her first jab.
'I'm of Indian background and I know what it's like there,' said Mr Singh, 34, who lives in Parramatta and is fully vaccinated.
Accountant Anna went to her local Bankstown cafe for a coffee and opened up about how 'ridiculous' she feels the curfew is
Bankstown newsagent Vivienne Vo is one of many business owners struggling in Sydney's as the lockdown and a constant police presence continues to take its toll
Nadia, who works at a bakery at Auburn, got vaccinated and follows Covid guidelines even though she feels rules such as the curfew in her LGA is unfair
Bilal earned just $40 last week and is afraid to drive outside the 5km radius from his home - even though he works as a taxi driver
Forklift driver Sukhinder Singh, who is fully vaccinated, waited two hours for his wife to get her first jab at Homebush on Tuesday. He lost two family members to Covid in India this year
His mother-in-law and a cousin died from Covid this year in northern India as the Delta strain emerged in the nation before sweeping across the world.
The Delta strain may have now spread to his adopted country too, but still he says 'we are very, very lucky to be here'.
Vivienne Vo, 51, a Vietnamese-Australian mum who has paid for her son to study law by working 16-hour days for 20 years at the Bankstown Plaza Newsagency, said she is getting used to the police trying to 'scare me'.
Ms Vo has a medical exemption for not wearing a mask because it causes her anxiety so severe that she can't control the crying it causes her.
'But every day the police come and scare me,' she said.
'You have to have a very strong mind to get through this.
'If I stay home I'll die from not being able to pay my mortgage, or from Covid, so just let me choose, I want to do my job and pay my bills.'
Sydney's west not only lives with the danger of Delta, but has also at times been the subject of accusations and anger from the government, with NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard earlier this month slamming the 'ignorance, stupidity and entitlement' of residents who would not obey restrictions.
But most are doing the right thing, and yet feel they're getting punished all the same.
All they've got so far is even tougher lockdown restrictions - such as the 9pm-5am curfew introduced this week, and a police presence so constant that it is only further eroding trust in authority which was already fragile in communities with immigrant populations from countries where uniforms were something to fear.
'We used to wave at the police, they were welcome here,' a man running a Regent's Park tobacconist, who asked not to be identified, told Daily Mail Australia.
'Now we just put our heads down when they come around.'
The first freedom that Khamma, 17, wants back when restrictions ease is to be able to see her cousins. She was one of many who said they badly miss their family
