Tasmanians are stuck in Melbourne's COVID-19 lockdown

Melbourne went into its fifth lockdown at 11.59pm on Thursday after recording 18 news cases of the delta variant of COVID-19.

Yesterday afternoon, friends Jenni McCabe and Christine Bullock-Godden boarded a Jetstar flight from Launceston to Melbourne.

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Whilst still on the tarmac at Launceston Airport, the pilot announced that Victoria was likely heading in to a three-day lockdown and invited passengers to disembark if they wished.

"We thought it was only three days and we're here for six, so we can make the most of the remaining days," Ms Bullock-Godden said.

It was only after arriving in Melbourne that the travellers learnt that Victoria would be heading in to a five-day lockdown, squashing their holiday plans.

According to Ms Bullock-Godden, what was meant to be a girls trip has turned into a "girls nightmare".

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"For the six days we're here, we'll be looking at four walls," Ms McCabe said.

Both fully-vaccinated against COVID-19, Ms McCabe and Ms Bullock-Godden had planned the trip to Melbourne to visit their friend Christine Moore for her birthday.

The holiday was intended to make up for missing Ms Moore's 60th birthday last year.

"We arrived at our friends house to find out that Tasmania had closed the borders," Ms McCabe said.

As a carer for her husband, Ms Bullock-Godden was looking forward to the holiday, but was now feeling anxious at the prospect of returning home to quarantine without preparation.

Acting Director of Public Health Scott McKeown said the current border closures would be reviewed daily.

Tasmanian residents and essential travellers must apply for a G2G pass to return to Tasmania.

More information can be found at www.coronavirus.tas.gov.au

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