Just 24 hours after warning her constituents to avoid travel to Victoria in a media briefing on June 22, NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian has today upped the ante, calling on the state's tourism vendors to refuse service to travellers from Melbourne. “I call on all organisations not to interact with citizens from Melbourne at this stage,” Berejiklian said, adding that she supported any accommodation providers in NSW that denied bookings to Victorians.
The premier’s stern remarks are in response to the mounting concern that a second wave of infection has struck Melbourne, as a surge in new cases has emerged from six hotspots around the Victorian capital. More than 80 per cent of the nation’s total cases detected over the past seven days have come from Victoria, which prompted premier Daniel Andrews to reintroduce certain social restrictions in the state on June 21.
With NSW's alpine season finally opening on June 22, some three weeks later than usual, snow-seekers from both states will be converging on Thredbo and other ski resorts in NSW’s Southern Tablelands in the coming weeks. While there are strict physical distancing protocols in place, with capacities across the area capped at just 50 per cent, there are still concerns that Victoria’s second wave could potentially spread to NSW via the snowfields.
Premier Berejiklian also warned NSW businesses not to allow their employees to travel interstate between NSW and Melbourne at present saying, “It’s the prerogative of every business, every organisation not to accept anyone from these hotspots at this time.”
Doubling down on her warnings to NSW residents, Berejiklian added: “You should not be travelling to Melbourne at this time because of the rate of community transmission. It can get out of control very quickly.” NSW authorities have not gone so far as to close the border with Victoria but other states have taken a hardline approach, such as South Australia, which yesterday decided to keep its border with Victoria closed.
NSW Health has also launched a media campaign, discouraging people from visiting Victoria. Ads with the headline "Thinking of going to Melbourne? Think again. Keep yourself and your loved ones safe", began appearing on social media platforms on the evening of June 22.