Ballina mayor David Wright fears police unable to stop travellers bringing Covid to region

A Northern Rivers mayor says he is scared about the chance of people driving to the region from Covid hot spots and the likelihood of them being stopped by police.

A Northern Rivers mayor fears people driving from Sydney or other Covid hot spots in NSW could take the area back into lockdown.

Ballina Mayor David Wright said NSW Police was unable to guarantee people would not be able to drive out of Covid areas into regional NSW out of lockdown.

It comes as the Central Coast recorded 27 new Covid cases on Saturday, bringing the region’s total to 220. 

Mr Wright said the issue was raised in a meeting with the NSW/Queensland Cross Border commissioner.

“The thing that I am most scared about is that we may be forced back into lockdown, with businesses losing millions of dollars, because of one ... person from Sydney,” he said.

“It’s almost impossible to control people driving, even with controls in place, the police told us that.

“There is going to be more publicity from the police to accommodation services to check on people’s origin because if someone gets Covid, the backlash to the shire would be significant.”

Ballina Shire Council Mayor David Wright is concerned about the ease with which a traveller could enter the Northern Rivers from a Covid hotspot. Picture: Natalie Grono

He said most warnings and alerts in Northern NSW have been due to people coming into the area by road.

“All our cases have been people from somewhere else,” he said.

“We are not getting any locally-transmitted cases, this is one of the things people will be more worried about.

“At the airport, many people coming are essential workers with the right approvals, but now that we are coming out of lockdown, people trying to come here by car will be an issue.”

A NSW Police spokesman said officers were committed to enforcing public health orders to limit the spread of Covid-19 in regional areas.

“As part of Operation Stay at Home, police will continue to have a highly-visible presence across NSW, to monitor travel in and out of regional areas,” the spokesman said.

“This will include random checks on people leaving Greater Sydney to ensure they have a permit to do so.”

A man and his two sons were admitted to Lismore Base Hospital with Covid-19 in early August after travelling to Northern NSW a week earlier.

No extra cases were confirmed but the man was charged by police and is due to face court next week.

The case sparked a lockdown for the Ballina, Byron Bay, Lismore and Richmond Valley from August 9.