Coronavirus: Deja vu as Victorian tourists evacuate NSW south coast en masse

After the announcement the southern border would be closed, Victorian holidaymakers on Thursday afternoon began to evacuate the NSW south coast en masse.

Victorians clog the streets of the NSW far south coast town of Pambula as holidaymakers flood back to their home state ahead of border closures.

NSW south coast businesses are suffering a devastating blow for the second year in a row, after the announcement the southern border would be closed triggered Victorian holidaymakers on Thursday afternoon to evacuate the region en masse.

In scenes Bega Valley Shire mayor Russell Fitzpatrick and local tourist operators said were reminiscent of last summer’s devastating bushfires, which almost exactly a year ago triggered orders to leave the area on safety grounds, roads were clogged with fleeing holidaymakers.

“We already have queues forming at service stations in Merimbula and Pambula,” Mr Fitzpatrick said, as the highway south was clogged with families trying to get a jump on what could be even more congested roads ahead of Friday’s midnight border closure.

Victorians in NSW “green zones” have until 11:59pm on Friday to return home or face a fortnight of hotel quarantine.

Acting Premier Jacinta Allan made the announcement on Thursday afternoon after revealing Victoria had uncovered a further two coronavirus cases, bringing the state’s total to eight from the NSW cluster.

Western Australia will again close its border to Victoria from midnight on Thursday.

South Coast Tourism Industry Association executive officer Karen Dempster said the local industry was facing another “disaster”. She said from her conversations with tourism operators, “the No 1 thing they have said is this is the anniversary of the bushfire, and it evokes panic and a lot of stress”.

Teagan Abbott, manager of the Big 4 Caravan Park at Narooma, said “there is great confusion and miscommunication about the border closures with our guests … They are frantically packing up to leave but many have young kids and can’t travel tonight — 50 per cent of our park guests are from Victoria.”

Further south in Eden, Kiah Adventure Tours owner Jenny Robb said her Victorian visitors were “packing up and leaving in disbelief at this decision”.

“Many of our visitors are planning just to get over the border tonight and camp roadside,” she said.

Ms Dempster accused the Victorian government of over-reacting with little thought for the consequences.

“This is reckless policy that is impacting on the tourism industry: why was there no notice or planning? For an additional five cases, why did they make this drastic decision?” she said.

Federal Tourism Minister Dan Tehan said he understood “decisions have to be taken to protect Australians from the COVID-19 virus … but all care should be taken to minimise the impact on the jobs and livelihoods of Australians and that’s why decisions to close the border should be taken with an eye to minimising the impact on our tourism sector and other sectors impacted by these decisions”.

In the Bega Shire, where Victorians account for close to 80 per cent of holiday business, Mr Fitzpatrick said the border closure’s impact would be “even more devastating after last year”, particularly on retailers who earned the vast bulk of their profits in the summer season.

John Murray of John Murray Real Estate holiday lettings in Narooma said “it’s ridiculous — we are not only receiving can­cellations for current bookings but also bookings for the rest of January … It’s heartbreaking.”