That is just the tip of an iceberg that has so far smashed into some of the $14.5 billion economy's biggest sectors, economist Matthew Nichols said.

"Tourism was what we are thinking of as stage one," he said.

"Stage two is what we are starting to see now: the social shut down policies curtailing a number of business operations that involve larger groups of people.

"We don't have as many statistics on that at hand, yet."

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Mr Nichol's agency REMPLAN will soon launch a national business survey tracking losses throughout the crisis.

What is already apparent is that Bendigo could lose as much as $50 million every month or so now that tourism has ground to a halt, he said.

That will send ripples throughout the economy.

"All of those providers of course purchase goods and services, probably in Bendigo, so there are flow-on implications to tourism shutting down," Mr Nichol said.

"Typically, for every dollar that a Bendigo visitor spend when they come, another 91 cents flows through the economy."

That figure does not account for specific events like the Easter Festival, which would impact on the amount lost during specific months.

More: Events cancelled in Bendigo because of COVID-19

Mr Nichol expects current restrictions to shorten the crisis and allow cities and regions to hit the recovery phase faster.

"That should really crystalise the benefit of nipping this in the bud," he said.

"But this too shall pass. When it does, we need to have good evidence about where the crisis was felt and where we can direct recovery and stimulus funds to have the best effect."

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