Victoria's sixth lockdown is hitting small regional businesses hard with pubs, restaurants, and cafes comforting staff as they try to divert food from landfill.

The Victorian government and epidemiologists say the lockdown is necessary across the state to give contract tracers time to find the source of mystery cases and isolate close contacts.

But businesses are reeling.

Matt Raidal is the co-owner of Redd Catt café in Sale, eastern Victoria, and is giving away lunches in exchange for a donation to charity.

"We've got some perishable food that in the past we might have frozen or taken home for the family, or given to staff to eat," he said.

"We thought we'd cook those items and people can have them, and in return we'd just like a small donation … to pass on to businesses that don't have the option to open as easily as we do during the lockdown.

Another hit to the bottom line

Stephen Colombo, who owns Colombo's Pasta Bar and Café and is the chair of Swan Hill Inc's traders' committee, said business owners would be feeling deflated today, as well as mentally exhausted and frustrated.

Mr Colombo said a lockdown can cause a drop of between 30 and 60 per cent to a business' bottom line.

"It's not necessarily for that one week that you feel the impact, it can take months to recover because you need consumer confidence to gain momentum again," he said.

More support needed

Noojee Pub co-owner Simon Duck said the four-hour timeframe between lockdown being called and beginning meant they had no time to prepare.

"You've got to try to put on a smiley face for the kids so they don't stress out," the West Gippsland publican said.

"[But] staff are upset and crying because they don't get to earn an income. If the plan is to destroy small business then it's working

"The government love to spread all over the media that they are helping small business, but we have received nothing for the last three lockdowns.

"The most disappointing thing is us, in regional Victoria, there haven't been any outbreaks. There's not even one person with this virus in our regional area."

Wodonga real estate agent Will Bonnici took to social media to take aim at the Victorian Government for including regional Victoria in the lockdown.

Epidemiologist says lockdown necessary

Monash University epidemiological modelling unit head James Trauer said the multiple mystery cases that sprung up made lockdown necessary.

"It came as a shock to me too. It's just so disappointing," he said.

"It came out of the blue, and it's really hard for people, but I agree that when vaccination coverage is this low we just have to do it.

Small Business Minister and Member for Western Victoria, Jaala Pulford, said the health advice was based on the need to protect rural and regional Victoria due to the Delta variant's speed.

She said separating Melbourne from regional Victoria with "the so-called 'ring of steel' takes time and redirects resources".

"They may change, and it may be the case that you've got parts of the state where it's appropriate and safe to have different settings, but that is not where we are at today."

A $400 million package jointly funded by the Commonwealth and Victorian governments will provide automatic payments to almost 100,000 eligible businesses, including sole traders.

Other hardship funds will be made available to eligible businesses that do not qualify for existing programs.

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