Hospitality venues in regional Victoria are calling for more support as patrons from locked-down areas inflict abuse and vandalism on staff who turn them away at the door.
Businesses caught serving people who should not be in the regions can be fined $9,913, and many operators are worried the rest of Victoria could be plunged back into lockdown if infectious Melburnians break the rules and visit their towns.
Charlie Guillou, a worker at Hoo Gah Café in Bendigo, said police needed to work more closely with businesses dealing with patrons "frustrated" at having to show ID.
"A lot of people don't want to listen to us because we're not enforcers of the law," she said.
"We definitely need all the help we can get."
Pub's plumbing vandalised
Gorge Camorra, an owner of bars in both Geelong and Ballarat, said his staff had to turn people away from Melbourne during each lockdown to date.
Last weekend, 22 people were turned away from his Geelong bar because they could not prove they lived in regional Victoria.
In Ballarat, one couple turned away from Mr Camorra's venue were so angry they smashed his plumbing, causing $600 worth of damage.
"People also abused staff because we wouldn't let them in," Mr Camorra said.
"We just want to keep everyone safe, our customers, our staff and the town.
Fears of another lockdown
On Tuesday, Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Shane Patton said only two or three infringements were being issued each day, on average, to people breaching lockdown and travelling to the regions.
"We're not talking big numbers at all," he said.
No exposure sites have been listed in regional Victoria during the state's sixth lockdown, apart from a motor dealership at Bacchus Marsh near the epicentre of the outbreak in Melbourne's west.
But Warrnambool publican Steve Philpot said his venue had turned away about 70 would-be patrons over the past fortnight whose addresses were in Melbourne and New South Wales.
He said anyone flouting the rules should be fined.
"If you do get some infections in regional Victoria, we all know what the answer is," he said.
