Justin Clancy was speaking on Friday after the Murray River police district chief Superintendent Paul Smith flagged a number of offences, including a couple travelling from Sydney to the Border to buy a dog.

That was exposed when their vehicle was stopped as part of a four-hour operation on the Hume Highway on Wednesday targetting southbound traffic.

"They had made arrangements with someone within the Border region to purchase a dog off them, they were to meet at a service station in Albury," Superintendent Smith said.

"They were detected at Woomargama, they certainly didn't have an exempted reason to be there, they were issued with a $1000 (fine) each, the two occupants, and turned around."

A removalist traveling from Queensland to the Border for a job was also fined at the same roadblock after it emerged he had stayed in Sydney rather than just transited through.

Three Sydney men who sought vaccines at the Sarkon clinic at Lavington Square on Wednesday also received $1000 fines each.

They were authorised to work in Albury but breached their permit by browsing at shops in the mall.

Mr Clancy said he wanted a higher fine level.

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Under Victorian rules if you breach an isolation order you can be instantly fined $5452 as two Sydney women were when they flew into Melbourne this week.

"I'd certainly call for stronger penalties....particularly for those seeking to evade the PHO (public health order) in exiting Sydney," Mr Clancy said.

"There's obviously situations where that presents a significant risk, where it relates to risk we need to be looking at that."

Member for Murray Helen Dalton would also like higher fines and a health order requiring all plane passengers and motorists from Sydney to have negative COVID tests in the 72 hours before they depart the capital for regional NSW airports and areas.

Superintendent Smith said operations would be held across routes in the region, including the Hume, Riverina, Cobb, Olympic and Newell highways.

"We've stopped over 2000 vehicles just in the past couple of weeks," he said.

Mr Clancy welcomed operations in the Riverina and Sydney but said he would "always seek to strengthen" policing.

But he noted "right in the depths" of Melbourne's COVID crisis last year when that city had a so-called ring of steel "we were continuing to turn people away from the Border".

"That is the challenge that remains, that is the ongoing risk," Mr Clancy said.

On the issue of vaccines, Mr Clancy said he supported a push for increased opening hours at the Albury Wodonga Health immunisation hub, but noted there was spare capacity at private clinics.

He implored those that were unvaccinated to "do the right thing" and get protection from COVID whether they live in Albury, Henty, Culcairn, Jerilderie or Tumbarumba.