THE NSW Deputy Premier has defended the ban on Melbourne locums which has created a staffing crisis in the emergency department at the Albury public hospital.
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John Barilaro said it was wrong to be sourcing fill-in doctors from the "epicentre of the COVID crisis".
He said bringing one to Albury-Wodonga might "infect the whole health network" and lead to the whole workforce being stood down.
"The detrimental effect that would have on this community would be significant," Mr Barilaro said.
"We are looking at ways and protocols that if we need to bring those surgeons, those doctors out of Melbourne, we will set those protocols in place, but that has to be our last position.
"We have been working across NSW and across the border to find other locums to fill in those gaps.
"We've got some specialists coming down next week, but that again is going to be something we need to manage.
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"Our last resort would be to take people out of Melbourne, while we're still seeing the infection rate in excess of 200."
Mr Barilaro's comments follow him meeting health officials, including Albury Wodonga Health's chief executive Michael Kalimnios and chairman Matt Burke.
NSW chief health officer Kerry Chant was party to the forum from Sydney.
Mr Barilaro noted that Dr Chant described the spread of COVID in regional Victoria as "stable".
"It gives her confidence that we can now revisit the issues on the border and that is the message that I wanted her to hear, that is the message I wanted the participants to hear and now it's up to the leadership of this government to make the final decisions about what happens with restrictions," Mr Barilaro said.
The Nationals leader showed he was aware of the low level of coronavirus on the border.
"(There's been) 44 days without an infection and prior to that something like 100 days without an infection," Mr Barilaro said.
He said a change to the border situation was needed because of falling COVID numbers in Victoria and changes to contact tracing in that state.
Mr Clancy said it was not about "flicking a switch today" but "engaging in a conversation about how we reset the situation".
Ms Cooke said the border closure fallout had reached her electorate through limits on agricultural workers and boarding school students.
She said canola, oats and wheat farmers needed certainty given the upcoming "bumper harvest".
