Port Fairy police Sergeant David Walkley said he was in the process of checking through five instances of people from Melbourne being in the seaside town during the past 24 hours.

He said another Melbourne resident was in Port Fairy to care for a relative, who had recently undergone surgery, but had not been following the Melbourne lockdown restrictions.

That resident was allowed to be in the town but has to follow takeaway food and curfew restrictions.

The three other cases involve Melbourne people who were in regional Victoria when the most recent lockdown started but had extended their stays and then illegally moved to other country locations.

Sergeant Walkley said he had made it crystal clear to Port Fairy accommodation providers that Melbourne residents were able to extend their stays but were not able to move to different locations.

"They have to return to their home address," he said.

"Those accommodation providers are risking $10,904 fines and the Melbourne residents $5452 fines.

"We've had a few people checking their holiday homes but that is not allowed under the current chief health officer regulations.

"Those exemptions only relate to performing emergency repairs but people are still trying to find loopholes."

Police to enlist community support to provide crucial information

The station commander said the Reservoir resident, who lives in one of Melbourne's hot spot areas, had been in the town for four days.

"His argument was he needed to check to find out if he had to perform emergency repairs - that's clearly not allowed," Sergeant Walkley said.

"Plus, he admitted he's been mowing the lawn and gardening.

"That is exactly what we are trying to prevent - people from hot spots in Melbourne coming to Port Fairy and potentially introducing COVID-19."

Sergeant Walkley said Port Fairy residents were providing plenty of quality information to police about potential rule breaches.

"Port Fairy residents have been outstanding. It's about trying to keep everyone safe and Port Fairy remaining COVID-free," he said.

"Melbourne residents moving from one regional area to another has caused some confusion but we are making that situation very clear to accommodation providers - it's not on.

"They can't extend accommodation, but when that accommodation ends they have to go home.

"They can't just pack up and go elsewhere."

The sergeant said he was surprised with the number of people prepared to bend the regulations.

"It's not even the school holidays yet," he said.

"We expect that more people will want to come to Port Fairy in coming weeks and we encourage residents to keep providing information to the police assistance line on 131 444.

"Even those with exemptions have to abide by the Melbourne lockdown rules. That's not sit-down service at hotels or restaurants and a curfew still applies.

"These five cases are all still under investigation, but when we find people blatantly breaching the regulations then fines will be issued."

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