WE SAY: Premier's claim border have 'enormous risk' hurts residents

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian and Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews were upfront that there would be pain in the first 72 hours but said they were committed to getting the closure right so cross-border communities would continue to have access to vital services.

However the NSW Premier's subsequent classification of Albury as carrying "enormous risk" because of its vicinity to Victoria has not only disadvantaged residents, it may have put lives at risk.

In an attempt to stop border residents holidaying in NSW, Ms Berejiklian said it was "highly probable" people from the Border region would cause a spike in NSW if they travelled outside of Albury-Wodonga.

Ms Berejiklian put the community "on notice" and in doing so demonised the border's 100,000 odd residents for three isolated cases of coronavirus in one Lavington family.

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Those staunch, and oft repeated, comments that incorrectly labelled Albury high risk weren't just inflammatory and misguided, they were very nearly deadly.

The confusion caused by Ms Berejikilian's comments about Albury led to a Border grandfather being turned away from Wagga during a heart attack, risking his life.

A Wagga private hospital cancelled an Albury resident's long-awaited elective surgery because of her postcode, and NSW RSL clubs have banned residents from the Albury-Wodonga "hot spot".

Since the first Lavington case was revealed on July 6, thousands of border residents have stepped up to be tested. A two-day pop-up clinic continues to remain operational nine days later. Despite hundreds of tests, no community transmission has been found.

When asking border residents to remain in their bubble Ms Berejikilian called on residents feeling their freedoms were being impinged to "think about the consequences".

It's advice she would have done well to take herself because being wrongly labelled a risky area is having real health implications on our residents.