Blockading people out of East Gippsland this Easter is one option being talked about in the district with traffic already increasing despite calls for people to stay home.

Bairnsdale local, Max Curtis, believes a simple solution to keeping the region virus free would be to block the shire off at its border.

“Why not stop people coming into East Gippsland? It’s no different to isolating in our own homes,” Mr Curtis said.

“I’m no authority on it I just live in the area but I think it’s silly allowing travel when we’re virtually free of it so far.

“I bet my bottom dollar people will still come in this Easter despite the warnings and restrictions. I just reckon it should be stopped.

“We only have one case in East Gippsland and we’re isolating still. Why let more people in unless they’re emergency personnel or carrying freight?”

At the start of April, Western Australia was divided into nine separate areas and police conducted permanent and random vehicle checkpoints.

However, Member for Gippsland East, Tim Bull, believes closing access to East Gippsland via roadblocks would be problematic for several reasons.

“There are over a dozen access routes to be monitored and it will tie up critical police resources in what is a busy period for them, enforcing the various regulations that have come into place,” Mr Bull said.

“It would also mean every driver of every vehicle would have to be stopped and interrogated and this would cause massive delays for critical freight deliveries, essential services deliveries and essential services workers.

“In Victoria alone there are about 33 rural areas that have had either zero or one case only.

“What we need to do as a society is to continue to do what we have been doing and band together and do the right thing.

“If we do the hard yards now, we will be better off in the long run.”