One of the memories from the bushfire emergency that will stick forever is the long line of traffic pouring into the South Coast just after Boxing Day and just after warnings were issued that it was not a safe place to be.
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Some collective sense of entitlement seemed to have gripped Sydneysiders and Canberrans - that no matter the risk they had planned their Christmas break and were going to take it come hell or high water.
Well, as we saw, hell did arrive and thousands ended up trapped here. And when they did finally leave they stripped local communities of essentials such as food and fuel.
Now, we face another test as the Easter break looms. I say "break" not "holiday" because it won't be one, as Transport Minister Andrew Constance has made plain.
The message that needs to get city people mistakenly thinking it might be a good idea to isolate themselves on the coast or in other regional areas is: DON'T.
First, there's the grave risk they'll spread the virus beyond the urban hot zone. This would be calamitous in places such as Shoalhaven, Eurobodalla and Bega Valley which have large elderly populations.
Second, the health services on the South Coast and Far South Coast just don't have the resources to cope with a mass outbreak. Local doctors are warning small hospitals in our regions risk being swamped.
Third, people who come here and then get sick will not have access to the same level of care they would have had they stayed home.
We've all been dismayed by the mishandling of cruise ships that docked, disgorged passengers and introduced the virus and spread it. Allowing thousands of people to descend in their cars into our regions would have a similar, if not worse, effect.
In Queensland, they take the risk seriously enough to have placed roadblocks in towns that straddle the border with NSW. Apart from a few exemptions, no one gets in and no one gets out. That is how it should be.
Yes, it will upset holiday plans. Yes, there will be disappointed children longing for that one last hurrah at the beach. Yes, businesses which have already suffered will hurt some more. However, none of that is worse than losing loved ones.
It's becoming pretty clear more stringent measures to lock down large parts of the country are coming.
The South Coast and Far South Coast will need to be part of those plans.
If highways need to be shut, so be it.