Victoria’s acting Chief Health Officer declared all of NSW and ACT a red zone under Victoria’s travel permit system from 11.59 pm Sunday.
With case numbers continuing to rise in NSW, Victorian public health officials were concerned about the risks of transmission beyond current red zones in Greater Sydney and surrounds, and the potential risks to the Victorian community.
The border closure became more likely throughout Sunday after Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews warned returning Victorians they “better be quick about it”.
The warning came soon after NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian all but confirmed lockdown provisions in greater Sydney and surrounds — scheduled to end on Friday — would be extended as the outbreak continued to grow.
NSW recorded its first death during the current wave of cases: a 90-year-old Sydney woman.
The state recorded 77 cases on Sunday and, worryingly, only 32 were in isolation for all of their infectious period.
Ms Berejiklian said she would be "shocked" if NSW did not report at least 100 local COVID-19 cases on Monday, given the level of household transmission.
There are 15 patients with COVID-19 in NSW in intensive care, with five on ventilators.
The Victorian border is effectively closed to NSW and the ACT residents. Those permitted to cross are Victorian residents returning on a red zone permit who must quarantine for 14 days and for people with exemptions such as specified workers and cross-border residents.
If you live in the NSW cross-border area, you can enter Victoria without a permit but you must travel with proof of address. You cannot enter if you have been to a red zone outside the cross-border area or if you have COVID-19, any symptoms or have been defined as a close contact by a state health authority.
Border residents crossing from NSW are being asked not to leave the border bubble, and the same applies to Victorian border residents needing to enter NSW.
Workers in select industries are eligible for a specified worker permit, including forestry, agriculture, essential services, freight, rail and vaccine distribution.
“Many warnings were given about exactly this sort of outcome. A situation can change, border conditions can change, permit conditions can change,” Mr Andrews said.
Victoria Police has relocated a traffic management point in Wodonga to the Hume Hwy as part of its Operation Sentinel response.
Over the weekend a police helicopter was being used to help enforce border restrictions.
There are more than 300 Victoria Police officers doing roving border patrols, spot checks and vehicle intercepts and manning traffic management points.
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