Coronavirus: Where are the border protections for regional NSW?

Most wouldn't have given them a second glance until they saw the men on Nine News, speaking about how they had spent the previous night at a New Year's Eve party at Luna Park in Sydney.

They were complaining about the lack of social distancing. Two days later they appeared to be in Queanbeyan, walking freely around the park and enjoying their escape from the Sydney mayhem.

If they had crossed the border into the ACT, they would have been told to quarantine for 14 days, or sent back to Sydney.

But Queanbeyan is a NSW safezone, with Sydney residents allowed to travel anywhere in the state.

It begs the question, how many people in Queanbeyan who have recently travelled to Sydney are currently wandering around the town?

And should Sydneysiders be banned from travelling to regional NSW?

It came as an 18-year-old Berala man who tested positive for the virus had travelled to Orange and Nyngan on Saturday and Sunday before travelling to a camping trip at Broken Hill.

The man didn't do anything wrong. NSW Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant said the man did the right thing once he was made aware he was a close contact. He had a runny nose and got tested on Monday morning.

But the fact is the 18-year-old Berala man would not have been able to travel to the ACT, however, he was able to travel to regional NSW and potentially spread the virus.

We can rely on little more than goodwill that people who have travelled in surrounding regions are not travelling into the ACT but is it fair they are legally allowed to wander around surrounding towns and potentially spread the disease in these communities?

If a major outbreak were to occur in Queanbeyan, Goulburn or Yass the flow-on effect to the ACT would be huge. Not only would it be impossible to implement border controls between these towns and the ACT but people in these towns would have to use the territory's healthcare system.

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When the Victorian second wave kicked off in Melbourne, people in the city were banned from travelling into regional Victoria and the city was under a stricter lockdown.

Could a similar system be implemented in greater Sydney? Should the Sydney northern beaches travel restrictions be expanded?

The NSW government has been pretty clear it doesn't want to force the state into a lockdown and it's unlikely they would shut off Sydney.

If they did, the city wouldn't necessarily need to go into a hard lockdown, it would just mean they wouldn't be able to leave the city. A win-win for regional NSW and Sydney.

But it's time for NSW residents to take responsibility and heed the warnings. Sydneysiders should not travel outside the city and regional residents should not travel to Sydney.

The case numbers in NSW have been looking favourable but the virus is always lurking around the corner and complacency is the greatest enemy.