THE reintroduced lockdown for Greater Melbourne represents the last chance for regional Victoria to remain COVID-19 free.

Member for Mildura Ali Cupper welcomed the Victorian Government’s announcement on Tuesday that a tight lockdown would be imposed on Melbourne for six weeks as coronavirus cases continue to climb.

It comes a day after Ms Cupper urged the government to consider a “reverse travel bubble” to restrict Melbourne residents from travelling to rural and regional areas.

With Victoria’s border to NSW to close at midnight on Tuesday, and the SA Government announcing tighter border controls, Ms Cupper said the tight lockdown in Melbourne was needed to keep COVID-19 out of regional areas like the Mildura electorate.

“This was an essential move given the alarming rate of growth of coronavirus cases stemming from metropolitan Melbourne,” she said.

However, residents from the Mildura electorate need to remain vigilant after a Melbourne family of four tested positive after returning from a holiday in Port Fairy on the southwest Victorian coast.

“We know with school holidays there have been a lot of travellers to all parts of the state including the Mildura electorate,” she said.

“What has happened with Port Fairy shows that regional Victoria is not immune.

“We all need to ensure we’re doing all the things we’ve been encouraged to do – social distancing, regular hand-washing and other hygiene measures and if you have any cold or flu symptoms at all, get tested.

“It would be absolutely devastating for our region if the entire state needs to be put into lockdown again, so we all have to take responsibility for our own actions to try and ensure there are no outbreaks in our community.”