NSW Police then Victoria Police along with the ADF patrolled the border between Victoria and NSW on numerous occasions throughout 2020 and 2021 as the states Premiers closed the border to keep the virus out of their states with local residents required to have a permit to enter.
Photo by
Les_Garbutt
With the “emergency phase” of the Covid-19 pandemic officially coming to an end on October 12, the Chronicle looks back on one of the biggest news events in recent history.
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Few would forget the fateful moment on March 22, 2020, when former Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced all ‘non-essential’ businesses would be required to close for six weeks, following the World Health Organisation’s declaration of a global pandemic.
Panic buying caused empty shelves in 2020 with toilet paper the first item to be cleared from shelves.
Soon after, the Prime Minister also announced stay at home orders, asking Australians to only leave their home for essential shopping, medical care and exercise. A ban on travelling overseas was also imposed following the death of a woman who contracted Covid-19 on a passenger cruise ship.
Yarrawonga's wonderful frontline team pictured in 2020 safely 'social distancing'.
Locally, many events fell victim to the initial 500-person cap restriction imposed on public gatherings before that was drastically reduced further including major events such as the IWWF World Show Ski Championships, the annual Yarrawonga Easter Tournament, the Easter Under the Southern Stars rock concert, the GP Formula Boat Races and the Festival of 1000 Voices while local sporting matches on the eve of the season.
Border closures, lockdowns between the two states and restrictions meant business owners and managers were often the only people in an establishment. YMGCR also dealt with changing rules to golf play and an opening and closing gym.
At the time, many people were unaware of the severity of COVID-19 and how infectious the disease was. No one could predict just how long the stay home orders would last.
With so much unknown, local leaders urged the community to remain calm and support each other through the growing health crisis.
Belmore Street Yarrawonga and Melbourne Road Mulwala became eerily quiet as local businesses tried to put their best foot forward and switch how they offered their services in a ‘Covid safe’ way.
Businesses that were able to serve takeaway, remained open and adapted with many changing their business models.
Restaurants began offering takeaway meals, while retail offered to deliver their essential goods to people’s homes.
For the first time in history, ANZAC Day was marked from home, as people gathered at the front of their driveways at 6am to honour the fallen.
ANZAC Day 2020 was commemorated from the driveway of people's homes for the first time in history.
Several local businesses joined the global fight, producing hand sanitiser for local residents and businesses.
Over the next few months, phrases such as ‘social distancing’, ‘flattening the curve’, ‘mandatory isolation’, ‘PCR test’ and ‘border bubble’ would become a normal part of people’s vocabulary.
PCR tests and being tested for COVID became part of the 'norm' throughout 2020 and 2021.
Photo by
Les_Garbutt
The biggest shock to the local area arrived in July 2020 when the border between NSW and Victoria was slammed shut for the first time in 100 years following a surge of COVID-19 cases in Victoria.
For 138 days, a massive police operation set up on the border with 14,000 police officers and 1,200 ADF personnel manning 27 checkpoints across the state.
One of the many 'border bubble' maps introduced that changed numerous times causing confusion for local residents over 18 months.
The closure caused complete mayhem for border locals with passes and special exemptions needed to cross the border. Many businesses suffered from the consequences of the border closure.
However, with many expecting 2021 to be a better year with less restrictions, the pain didn’t end there.
Border closures and lockdowns became the politicians preferred way to deal with spikes in Covid-19 cases. Often there was little notice given before sweeping changes came through, upending many people’s lives and creating a dangerous situation for those who needed to travel significant distances to get home.
Vaccines became mandatory with students completing their VCE required to be fully vaxxed as these leaders were some of many young community members urging people to get vaccinated.
The adverse effect of lockdowns on morale and mental health was experienced right along the border region.
Almost 1,000 days since the WHO declared COVID-19 a pandemic, many individuals and businesses are still recovering from the poor decision making inflicted by politicians.
Time will tell if key lessons have been learned from the past 18 months.
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