Victorian Covid outbreak to cost NSW $150m in lost tourism revenue

Regional towns are furious after a Victorian couple’s road trip through NSW is expected to cost the state millions of dollars in lost tourism.

Melbourne’s latest Covid-19 outbreak which led to a Victorian lockdown and a virus scare in regional NSW could cost our state up to $150 million in lost revenue over the long weekend, the Tourism and Transport Forum estimates.

It comes as Health Minister Brad Hazzard labelled a Covid-positive couple who drove through NSW into Queensland after escaping Melbourne’s lockdown a “clear and present danger” to regional communities.

One Forbes pub visited by the 44-year-old woman and her husband is now facing losses of up to $60,000 and is closed until further notice.

Moree’s Amaroo Tavern.

Up to 20 locations visited by the pair have been identified so far.

A spate of new health alerts were issued on Thursday night for Forbes and Dubbo, and a Coles Express in Coonabarabran.

Owners of the Vandenberg Hotel in Forbes are now worried they could be closed until Tuesday next week.

Kim Fetherston, her husband Grant and five staff were all working on June 1 when the Covid-positive couple visited the hotel.

They now need to self-isolate until further notice, along with patrons from the same night, forcing the hotel to stay shut.

Homestead Motel Hotel at Dubbo.

The Brew Coffee at Forbes.

The financial cost could be “anywhere up to $60,000”, Ms Fetherston said.

“We lost State of Origin, we’re going into the long weekend, plus I’ve got to pay all my staff. It just ­impacts so many people,” Ms Fetherston said.

NSW Health on Thursday had identified 343 contacts of the couple, but contact tracers were still seeking more information from their Queensland counterparts.

Mr Hazzard said even if the couple had a valid reason to travel, they shouldn’t have made so many stops on their four-day trip through NSW.

“They certainly took a long while to mosey their way through NSW and went to an extraordinary number of venues,” he said.

Queensland Health Minister Yvette D’Ath said one of the two positive cases had a new job in that state. Travel for “authorised” work commitments was allowed under the Victorian lockdown, but only via the most direct route.

Mr Hazzard suggested the pair may be liable for fines in three separate states if they broke any rules.

The Vandenberg Hotel in Forbes

Meanwhile, NSW Health was accused of failing to provide enough testing kits to one council impacted by the two cases. Moree Plains Shire ­Council Mayor Katrina Humphries said up to 200 people were turned away from getting a test because they ran out of kits at a pop-up testing site. NSW Health denied people were turned away, but Ms Humphries called that statement “bulls--t”.

Tourism and Transport Forum chief executive Margy Osmond estimated that long weekend tourism revenue could be cut by $150 million across the state as people chose to stay home.