Victoria-NSW border to close tomorrow night, amid 127 new COVID-19 cases in Victoria

A new daily Victorian record has been set for new coronavirus confirmations, with 127 cases confirmed on Monday morning.

There are now 645 active COVID-19 cases in Victoria.

There is one active COVID-19 case in Greater Bendigo, with a total of 10 cases recorded since the pandemic began.

There are no active cases in Loddon, Campaspe or Mount Alexander Shire's, according to the Chief Health Officer.

Victoria's COVID-19 death toll has risen to 22, following the death of a man in his 90s and another man in his 60s, both in Melbourne hospital.

4pm

Member for the Northern Victoria Region Wendy Lovell said the decision preventing Victorians from entering NSW without a permit will dramatically impact all Victorians living in border communities.

"The many border communities throughout my electorate have been through so much already, and I am under no illusion as to the impact of this unprecedented decision," Ms Lovell said.

"I recognise this is going to create hardship and frustration for our border communities.

"I know the resilience of my constituents along the Murray will shine through once again."

3pm

Echuca Moama Tourism chief executive Kathryn Mackenzie said there is no doubt the region's tourism will be impacted by the border closure.

"With NSW schools just starting their school holidays, this is usually our biggest week," Ms Mackenzie said.

Victorian students are currently in their second week of school holidays.

Ms Mackenzie said Echuca Moama Tourism was seeking further detail about the length of the time the border will be shut.

"We haven't been given any detail as yet," Ms Mackenzie said.

"The paddle steamers will remain open for Victorian guests, excluding those from hot spot postcodes.

"That is clarification we have recently received as this situation evolves."

Ms Mackenzie said the region remains predominately a Victorian tourism destination.

"We are seeing massive amounts of border traffic with caravans and campers both ways," Ms Mackenzie said on Monday afternoon.

"There is a lot of movement at the moment."

The resilience and adaptability of tourism operators was also lauded by Ms Mackenzie.

"We have never been in such a regulatory environment before," she said.

"We were very optimistic last week of returning to normal and now we know we are set for challenging times once more.

"It is a fine balance between looking after the community, our tourism operators and our visitors.

"We have never had to operate in such a high stakes balancing act."

2.30pm

Member for Murray Plains Peter Walsh has called the decision to close the Victoria-NSW border "dramatic and unprecedented".

"Victoria is now the pariah state of the nation," Mr Walsh said.

"Our communities and local economies have already been smashed by Victoria's COVID-19 shutdowns.

"We are all prepared to do our bit to flatten the curve and save lives, but for us to be dragged into Melbourne's mess is a bitter blow to regional Victorians.

O'Sullivan's Transport's Gavin O'Sullivan said the Elmore-based livestock transporter will continue to operate as normal in light of the Victoria-NSW border closure.

"We should be right as long as they have the same protocol as South Australia," Mr O'Sullivan said.

"We make multiple trips per day across the border and just have to get the online paperwork, similar to South Australia."

From July 1, visitors to South Australia needed to apply for pre-approval to enter the state.

The applicant was advised whether or not they are considered an essential traveller and can enter the state without a period of quarantine, or if they have to quarantine from 14 days upon arrival.

Last week, South Australia's Premier Steven Marshall said the state would abandon its plan to open its Victorian border on July 20 due to its ongoing surge in COVID-19 cases.

2pm

Federal member for Nicholls Damian Drum has voiced his displeasure of the border closure.

The Division of Nicholls encompasses border towns such as Echuca, Nathalia, Strathmerton, Cobram and Yarrawonga.

"Daniel Andrews has taken a Melbourne problem and extrapolated that across regional Victoria," Mr Drum said.

"We have so many border communities that act as one.

"This is a clear opportunity for Daniel Andrews to pretend he understands the regions.

"If he wants to put a barrier anywhere, put a barrier around Melbourne and allow the areas that are effectively COVID-19 free to go about their lives."

12.30pm

Detailing how the border closure will work when it comes into force at 11.59pm on Tuesday, NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian - who previously opposed border closures - said she had no problem changing her views.

"What is happening now in Victoria is very different, all of the cases are from community transmission, this is unprecedented in Australia," she said.

"When NSW had the record number of cases in Australia back in March, they were a majority from overseas. What is occurring in Victorian has not yet occurred anywhere in Australia, so it needs a new type of response."

She said police and health officials were already stationed at the state's border, stopping anybody from Victorian hotspots coming to NSW.

"Come midnight tonight, the hotspots will extend the all of Melbourne, and come midnight tomorrow it will be all Victorians," she said.

Ms Berejiklian said border communities are in for a "tough couple of days", and would not be able to move around their towns as normal until a permit system being set up by Service NSW was in place.

"I appreciate the next 72 hours will be difficult for our border communities," she said.

As the closure comes into force, she said there would still be some train services and flights available, "but only for those who have permits and who are returning NSW residents".

Additionally, those needed access to "critical health care" within border towns would be able to access hospitals when needed.

Ms Berejiklian said she did not know how long the border closure would be in place, as it would depend on the spread of the virus.

"I'm not going to put a time limit on it, it will really come down to the health advice," she said.

11.45am

Campaspe Shire mayor Adrian Weston has made a statement following the announced border closure between Victoria and NSW, effective from 11.59pm Tuesday, July 7.

"We appreciate the unprecedented nature of what is happening regarding COVID-19 within Victoria, albeit primarily suburban Melbourne," Cr Weston said.

"We understand the concerns of our friends in New South Wales, so we will of course support the decision to close the border.

"That noted, we trust that all arrangements will recognise the twin town aspects of Echuca and Moama, as so many of us cross the border at least daily for work, health education and shopping.

"All of those activities that the general restrictions recognise must be accommodated."

AAP reports Mr Andrews said the decision to close the border had been made during a phone hook-up with Prime Minister Scott Morrison and NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian.

"I apologise for any inconvenience that will cause people who have unavoidable travel to NSW," he told reporters in Melbourne.

A permit system will operate for people needing to cross the border between towns like Albury and Wodonga to work or receive healthcare.

Further details of the permit system will be made available later today.

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian is due to speak to the media at 12pm.

Earlier

The border between Victoria and NSW will be shut on Tuesday night as COVID-19 continues to wreak havoc in Melbourne.

A new daily Victorian record has been set for new coronavirus confirmations, with 127 cases confirmed on Monday morning.

There are now 645 active COVID-19 cases in Victoria.

Thirty-four of the new cases are linked to confirmed outbreaks, 40 were discovered through routine testing and 53 cases are being investigated.

A Victorian man in his 90s has died, becoming 105th Australian victim of the COVID-19 pandemic.

There has not yet been any further details on coronavirus locations on Monday.

Read more:

The dramatic decision to close the border was made at an early morning hook-up between Premier Daniel Andrews, NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian and Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Monday.

Mr Andrews is expected to announce the border closure at a press conference at 10.45am on Monday.

The border is expected to close at midnight on Tuesday.

It will be the last state border to close in Australia, following the remaining states that have remained closed for weeks.

How the border closure will work

Twelve Victorian postcodes and nine public housing towers have been put into lockdown in order to prevent the spread of the virus in the state, which now has 2536 confirmed cases.

The border between the two states has remained open throughout the health crisis, as towns share infrastructure, including the Albury-Wodonga Health public hospital.

"I'm not interested in closing our borders I don't think that makes a lot of sense for us," Mr Andrews said in March.

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