Victorians still trapped north of the border awaiting exemptions

Hundreds of Victorians remain locked out of their home state as the tough border closure continues to separate and confuse amid a recent COVID cluster.

Nick Miller is desperate to get back to Melbourne in time for his daughter Lottie's first day of prep.

"It's a race against time because I'm assuming that when we come back we will have to do some kind of quarantine - that's two weeks," he said.

The family's post-lockdown visit to see the kids' grandparents in New South Wales has become a nightmare.

"Are we going home tomorrow - are we going to go home in April?"

"The last thing I want to do is put anyone at risk, but I just think that there must be a way to get people like us home."

Mr Miller is among close to 3000 Victorians who have applied for an exemption to come home.

Police Minister Lisa Neville today said extra resources were working through the backlog.

"There is 57 that have been granted … I know the department has put on extra staff in order to deal with this," she said.

READ MORE: Victoria calls for all states to follow its example and test flight crews

Coronavirus testing commander Jeroen Weimer said progress had been made in processing applications.

"We've been in touch with 1100 people this morning out of those 2800 to progress their applications and to understand them," he said.

"We have 630 of the exemptions where we're awaiting more information for the applicants to establish their case."

Peter and June Owen from Gippsland are stuck in Queensland, unable to return because they drove through New South Wales to get there.

"There's so much unnecessary concern and anxiety being caused by all this," Mr Owen said.

"We only bought enough medication with us for about 10 days."

There is growing pressure to streamline the process, including at the federal level.

"I'm happy to talk to the Premier about that and provide what support we can … see if we can get a better pathway home for Victorian's as soon as possible," Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on 3aw radio today.

Adding to the border closure fallout are plane passengers who were told they would be permitted into Victoria before they boarded, only to find that wasn't the case on arrival.

READ MORE: Contract with the Westin Melbourne hotel to quarantine Australian Open players scrapped

Among them, rugby league star George Williams who flew in from the ACT yesterday, but is now locked in 14 days quarantine because he'd spent two days in regional New South Wales late last month.

"None of us know why we're here at the moment … we just need some answers from the government," he said.

"We've flown into the unknown and we've been thrown into the deep end."

The government is at this stage standing firm, particularly as people continue to try and enter Victoria without permission.

Victoria Police today confirmed 1532 motorists have been turned away at the border and more than 1032 warnings and 50 fines have been issued.

Meanwhile Ms Neville today also flagged the state may shut the border to the UK as cases continue rise amid fears of a COVID super-strain gripping the country.

The minister said the mutant strain was worrying and was one of the reasons deputy chief health officer Allen Cheng was going to the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee (AHPPC) to ensure Australia was well informed about its potential impact.

"That is what will inform whether we close our port to the UK or not," she said.

"We're really concerned ... you can't look at the UK and not be concerned about it."