Man who sparked the Byron Bay lockdown charged by police

The Sydney man who plunged northern NSW into lockdown after travelling to the region while infected with Covid has been charged by police.

The Sydney man who plunged northern NSW into lockdown after travelling to the region while infected with Covid has been charged by police.

52-year-old Rose Bay man Zoran Rodavanovic was charged with breaching public health orders for travelling “without a reasonable excuse and in contravention of the public health orders”.

The man, who allegedly refused to wear a mask or check into venues during his travels around Byron Bay and surrounding towns, sparked a furious response from civic leaders as four northern NSW shires were sent into a week-long lockdown.

A semi-deserted Jonson St, the main commercial area in Byron Bay, on Tuesday.

Byron, Ballina, Richmond Valley and Lismore council areas are all in lockdown, sending the border bubble with Queensland into chaos.

Only the Tweed Shire was exempt from the lockdown rules and it remains the only destination southeast Queenslanders can travel to in NSW.

However, Queensland police are monitoring the situation and have ramped up patrols and intercepts at border checkpoints.

The Sydney man’s two teenage sons are also understood to have travelled with him and contracted the virus.

The lack of people in the streets in Byron Bay meant that many businesses decided to close altogether on the first day of the Northern Rivers lockdown.

The man, who is still in Lismore Base Hospital, is scheduled to face Lismore Local Court on September 13.

NSW Police are continuing their investigations.