The midnight shut-down of the NSW-Victorian border has been occasionally talked about in the past couple of months.

But many would not have thought it was going to happen.

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Up until the cases revealed this week, the region's rate of COVID-19 infections has been negligible - as it has been across regional Australia.

Even the rate of diagnoses in Sydney and Melbourne had not led to any expectation that the situation was about to test authorities up to and beyond their capabilities.

That was, though, until Victoria began its recent coronavirus-spike, with dozens-upon-dozens of new cases every day.

Many were linked with the apparent escape from poorly administered hotel quarantine in Melbourne, but even more concerning has been the growing rate of cases with unknown tracing.

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It all means that our lives are now being upended in a way that even the early lock-downs won't match in terms of inconvenience, in terms of the sheer difficulties this creates.

The scenarios have already been outlined by many on social media, and it's not just a matter of shopping locally rather than crossing the Murray River.

Different work locations, schools, medical services - the list goes on.

The two state governments, NSW in particular, say they are well aware of this and will take every step that is needed to not put unnecessary impediments on Border residents' daily lives.

It is essential then that we show patience in the first few days.

And it is equally essential that the authorities keep a very close watch on what is put in place to make sure that any problems in the implementation of the border closure are quickly stamped out.

For now the best we can do is keep a lookout for friends, relatives and neighbours to see if they need any support, because we will all need to lean on each other to lessen the burden.