Ski resorts negative COVID test order for Melbourne residents protects our towns

The decision to allow fans from coronavirus-free local government areas around Geelong into the Cats-Bulldogs clash on Friday night is a commonsense call and goes some way to cushioning the financial hit from zero crowd.

In our patch, the decision to re-open our ski resorts to Melburnians on the proviso they return a negative COVID test 72 hours beforehand is also a smart call, balancing the health risks and re-booting the economy.

The Alpine ski resorts including Mount Hotham, Dinner Plain and Falls Creek were, like many, hit hard in 2020 and suffered again when Melbourne visitors couldn't attend the official opening to the ski season last weekend.

IN OTHER NEWS

Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton's directive on a negative COVID test for Melburnians blindsided many on the mountains with predictable questions about its implementation and enforcement.

He pointed to overseas examples where the combination of socialising indoors and the slopes made the ski fields a high-risk environment. He is right.

Mount Hotham and Dinner Plain will be the most difficult to police due to two-way access to the resorts from Harrietville and Omeo on the Great Alpine Road.

But areas already exist on both approaches to create checkpoints.

One would think those coming to the mountains from Melbourne after four harsh lockdowns would do whatever it takes to escape for a weekend or longer in coming weeks.

What it also does is safeguard communities at the bottom of the mountains like Harrietville, Bright, Myrtleford, Mount Beauty, Tawonga and Omeo, which have snow-related businesses in them and are desperate to keep their doors open for the rest of the season.

After plenty of questionable calls since COVID started, the Victorian government has got this one right.

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: