The closure of the New South Wales-Victoria border is only hours away but permits to allow essential travel between the two states have not yet been made available.
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian, on announcing the border restrictions following a surge of corona virus cases in Victoria, said people could apply for the permit on the Service NSW website from Tuesday.
As of 12.20pm on Tuesday, applying for the permit remains unavailable.“From Wednesday 8 July, NSW will temporarily shut its border with Victoria to contain the spread of COVID-19 and to protect the health and jobs of NSW citizens,” the Service NSW website says.“If you’re travelling from Victoria to NSW, you’ll need a COVID-19 NSW border declaration permit.
“There will be provisions in place for residents of border regions, such as Albury-Wodonga.
“More information, including details on how to apply for a permit, will be available on this page soon.”
Hundreds of Australian Defense Force troops are being deployed to patrol about 55 checkpoints along the Victoria-NSW border.Between 350 and 500 personnel will be dispatched to help NSW authorities fortify the closed border.The troops will support police operations without directly involving themselves in law enforcement activity.The border closure has been slammed by Australian Industry Group chief executive Innes Willox who said it would pull the rug out from under the economic recovery and spark chaos.“The border closure puts up a Berlin Wall between our two biggest states which represent more than half our national economy, and cuts in two our country’s main economic artery,” he said.
People from the Greater Melbourne area have already been barred from entering NSW. Melburnians can only travel to NSW for a limited number of reasons, including medical care or fulfilling a legal obligation.From Wednesday, NSW residents returning from Victoria will be required to self-isolate for 14 days, with provisions in place for people living in border towns.NSW recorded seven new cases of corona virus on Tuesday, including a man who tested positive after being released from hotel quarantine.
