People in some NSW border towns with Victoria will have to apply for a permit to enter the southern state in a COVID crackdown.
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews on Tuesday burst the border bubble that had been operating during his state’s fifth lockdown, which allowed residents to travel freely between towns, when the rest of NSW had been declared an “extreme risk” and completely shut.
From Wednesday, residents of Wagga Wagga, Hay and Lockhart and Murrumbidgee councils will need a permit to enter Victoria.
“If you want to travel to Victoria from those four local government areas, you would need a permit,” Mr Andrews told reporters on Tuesday.
“(And) we’re only granting permits for those who are approved workers and even only then when it is absolutely necessary.
“I take no pleasure in having to essentially lock out those four communities from Victoria, but there’s a refusal to lock people in Sydney into Sydney, so I have no choice but to make these changes.”
Mr Andrews said he did not phone NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian before announcing the border change.
“I’ve had a busy morning and so has she and my views on these matters are well known, well known,” he said.
AAP
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