Victoria lifts travel ban on regional NSW

"Given the reduction in risk, Victorians can still come into Queensland as they have been able to all along, but they only need to get test if they have any symptoms.no matter how mild", she said.

With fresh COVID-19 cases continuing to pop up across Australia and community transmission still a very real issue, the Victorian Government has launched a new travel permit system in an attempt to keep the coronavirus out of the state.

GREEN ZONE: A green zone means you can apply for a permit and enter Victoria.

Anyone who has been in a designated red zone - the highest level in the system, which now covers Greater Brisbane and Greater Sydney - is barred from entering the state.

ORANGE ZONE: If you have visited an orange zone you can apply for a permit and need to take a coronavirus test within 72 hours after arriving in Victoria, isolating before and after, until you receive a negative result.

Non-ACT residents from areas of NSW that are not hotspots can enter the ACT but they are urged to reconsider any non-essential travel into the ACT at this time.

If identified as a close contact by Queensland Health, or if you have been to any one of the contact tracing locations, follow Queensland Health's advice immediately and contact ACT Health on 6207 7244.

With zero active cases in regional NSW, Victorian chief health officer Brett Sutton felt the region was well-placed to become an orange zone.

Travel from the "red zones" of Greater Brisbane and Greater Sydney remains banned, with the state government defending its tough border restrictions.

Mr Andrews flagged there would be significant repercussions for people who did not abide by the new system. Victoria will be cracking down on rule-breakers, too - the government has warned that trying to make a land border crossing from a red zone will get you turned away, while attempting to enter by plane or sea without a permit will score you a $4957 fine.

Shepparton News editor Tyla Harrington is just one north-east resident waiting anxiously to return home.

Tasmania has forced all arrivals from Greater Brisbane since January 8 to quarantine.

Nearly 200,000 tests have been taken in Victoria since the start of the year.

"When we discovered Greater Brisbane would be locked down, it was a bit disappointing, to be honest - 2021 was supposed to be a new year", Ms Harrington said.

Six people at the hotel - four quarantining guests, a cleaner and her partner - contracted the highly contagious United Kingdom strain of coronavirus.

Monday marked the fifth consecutive day the state recorded no new local or interstate COVID-19 cases, though a returned traveller in hotel quarantine tested positive.

He said pre-flight testing of travellers, treating flight crew the same as returned travellers and regularly testing hotel quarantine staff was "exactly the right thing to do" nation-wide in light of the new highly infectious strain of COVID-19 coming out of the United Kingdom.

The urgency is due to six cases of the Covid-19 variant, linked to the United Kingdom, which have now been linked to the Grand Chancellor hotel.

The child attended Armadale's Explorers Early Learning Centre, 8km southeast of Melbourne, on January 7.

"The border will be closed not one moment longer than it needs to be".