A major spike in Victorian daily COVID cases has a Wodonga business leader fearing the city's darkest economic days are still ahead.
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Illegall AFL grand final long weekend parties are being largely blamed for daily cases sky-rocketing to 1438 from 950 in the last 24 hours and with Victoria trailing NSW on the road to freedom from restrictions, Business Wodonga chief executive Graham Jenkin is deeply worried for already hamstrung hospitality businesses.
"I think the worse is still to come for Victoria," he said.
"If you look at the case numbers today of nearly 1500, for days we've seen in the media how the health system is being over-run, what is it going to be like when we open up and we have so many unvaccinated people, 20 per cent of the population possibly.
"We haven't seen the last lockdown, but under the roadmap we should have.
"Our members are struggling, there is no support like they are getting on the NSW-Queensland border, we've got different rules across the river.
"We're in a hospitality venue at the moment that can have 10 people indoors, 30 people outdoors, how is that going to be viable?
"I'd encourage anyone in Albury wanting to have a small gathering, have it in Wodonga."
Indi MP Helen Haines shared Mr Jenkin's fears and urged those still to get the jab to do so.
"Victoria will be opening up at a different rate to NSW and where we will feel that most is here on the border," she said.
"I'm calling on our national leaders, the Prime Minister, Treasurer, our Premiers of the two most populous states, Victoria and NSW, to recognise the border community by appropriately compensating us with an additional business support package.
"It makes no sense that people living in Wodonga will be under a different set of restrictions under the opening up plan in Victoria compared with people in Albury.
"Again it is a classic anomaly. It could be fixed if, particularly our Victorian government, had the will to do so."
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Wodonga mayor Kevin Poulton said: "As a guy who lives in Albury who represents (Wodonga), you've got to reach in and get in touch with Wodonga businesses.
"They are the ones at the moment at risk of not being there sooner than the Albury ones.
"Simply by geographic location one is disadvantaged, the other isn't as much.
"It is the haves and haves not isn't it?"
"I love that there is a couple of the smaller regional shires that have made it challenge among themselves," he said.
"We've just got to remember the Aussie ingenuity, the Aussie spirit. It is what has got us through before.
"Kudos to Indigo for how well they are tracking, almost 90 per cent first dose, but they've also got a lot less arms to throw the needle in."
Albury mayor Kevin Mack said Victorian cases were rising to worrying levels.
"I don't know what the Victorian Health Minister is doing," he said.
"They've had 1400 cases today, we should be putting the border up in NSW, not the other way round.
"Why haven't they removed the police from our borders? They are doing a great job, but they don't want to be there."
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