Mayors speak out: How Victoria’s Covid outbreak is impacting Northern NSW

Local governments react to the latest outbreak in Melbourne urging anyone who has been in Victoria to do the right thing.

Local council mayors have given their thoughts on the latest Covid-19 outbreak in Victoria.

Update 5.30pm: A Jetstar spokesperson confirmed no flights between Melbourne and Ballina Byron have been cancelled yet.

The spokeswoman said the situation will be reviewed again tomorrow morning.

“We will review demand for the route regularly, and if any changes are done to the schedule that may affect our Jetstar or Qantas clients, we will be contacting them directly to discuss other options,” she said.

On Friday, May 28, Jetstar has one service still scheduled to arrive to Ballina from Melbourne at 2pm, returning to Victoria at 2.35pm.

Original story: Mayors across the Northern Rivers remain on high alert as Victoria enters its fifth Covid-19 lockdown.

From midnight on Thursday Victorians will go into a seven day lockdown.

Anyone entering New South Wales after 4pm on Thursday must also go into lockdown.

Lismore mayor Vanessa Ekins said her main concern was for the number of residents who have family living in Melbourne including herself.

“I think this is the new normal,” Ms Ekins said.

“We will have outbreaks and lock downs for the foreseeable future.”

Lismore mayor Vanessa Ekins.

She said Melbourne had been well organised with the outbreak and Northern Rivers councils could learn from them.

She also praised residents who had been sharing positive vaccination stories on social media.

“There’s an awareness that’s something to do,” she said.

There have been about 75,000 vaccine doses given on the North Coast – an increase of about 18,000 in the past fortnight.

Supplies of the AstraZeneca vaccine to North Coast general practices have more than doubled over the past fortnight, with the latest increase this week taking dose numbers to 26,400.

Tweed Shire Mayor Chris Cherry said it was great the Victorian Government had acted fast in putting in the stay at home order.

Tweed Shire Mayor Chris Cherry.

“Hopefully anyone who has already travelled from that area prior to this will do the responsible thing … obviously isolate and keep out of circulation so we don’t get an outbreak here,” Ms Cherry said.

She said the lockdown was a timely reminder to keep up social distancing and good hygiene as some people had become blase about it.

She didn’t think it was necessary to shut off any flights to nearby Coolangatta Airport, so long as proper declaration protocols were put in place.

Across New South Wales there were 16,698 tests reported to 8pm Wednesday night, compared with the previous day‘s total of 7,262.

More to come.