The inconvenience of the border closure becomes greater, the further away residents are from major centres.
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Community members of Bellbridge were relieved to learn this morning that Bethanga Bridge would not become a border checkpoint.
Gennifer Hamam said about eight police officers were manning the intersection of Murray Street and the Riverina Highway, which leads to Lake Hume Village, and residents were able to get through with their permit.
"Because of the 50 kilometre radius, a lot of people have been able to get the permit, and that it accounts for daily living makes life a little easier," she said.
"I have a friend in Granya who is having difficulties getting a permit.
"Everyone is saying it's not too bad, particularly as we don't have to go via Tallangatta, but if we had a hard closure on our side, that would have been a bit of trouble."
But major complications have arisen further east along the Murray River.
Towong mayor David Wortmann said hard closures were in place - barriers blocking the road - on river crossings at Biggara.
"We're concerned about the hard closures; they are really going to inconvenience NSW residents, because they've got to cross into Victoria to go anywhere, whether they are going to Victoria or NSW," he said.
"With the hard bridge closures, those people are isolated.
"There's hard closures at the Towong bridge and Tintaldra bridge.
"I had an email from the Deputy Police Commissioner from NSW ... I have passed on those concerns to him."
There is no public information available that lists where there are manned checkpoints and where there are "hard closures", which in many cases are concrete blocks over the road.
For many people around those "hard closures", it blocks their usual access to food and health services, adding in one case 50 kilometres to what is usually a 140 kilometre trip.
According to VicTraffic, there are manned checkpoints at Towong Upper and at Holbrook Road which provides access to Jingellic, but Brooke Street in Towong is closed, and so is Tintaldra Road at Tintaldra.
Indi Bridge - in a remote area 20 minutes from Corryong - is reportedly among those crossings blocked by a barrier, but this is not reflected on VicTraffic's map.
Asked by The Border Mail if police would consider manning crossings in the Upper Murray that are currently hard closures, NSW Police Assistant Commissioner Scott Whyte said "absolutely".
"We're completely dynamic and the planning changes as needed. We're continuing to assess [that] every day, a couple times a day," he said.
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