South Australia will open its borders to travellers from New Zealand, effective immediately, and allow 12 recent arrivals already in hotel quarantine out into the community.
Key points:
- New Zealanders will be able to travel to SA without quarantine
- Twelve tourists currently in hotel quarantine will be able to leave
- Border community residents will enjoy more freedom of movement
Police Commissioner Grant Stevens also announced the state will ease its hard border restrictions with Victoria, and will also further free up travel in regional border communities.
It was revealed yesterday that five New Zealand travellers arrived unexpectedly at Adelaide Airport on Sunday and were put into hotel quarantine, at their own expense.
Commissioner Stevens has revealed there are now 12 New Zealand travellers in hotel quarantine and they are being contacted to be released.
"I'm pleased to be able to announce with New Zealand people arriving in SA, they will no longer be required to quarantine," he said.
"We're also happy to receive direct flights from New Zealand.
Commissioner Stevens said SA authorities had been in direct contact with New Zealand authorities and there is now a "level of comfort" that allowed the state's coronavirus transition committee to make its decision.
"We hadn't had specific advice in relation to the status of COVID-19 in New Zealand [when the travellers arrived]," Commissioner Stevens said.
"The health advice has been assessed by direct communication through our Chief Public Health Officer with New Zealand authorities and there is a level of comfort there in terms of the extent of COVID-19 that allows us to make this decision."
Commissioner Stevens said it was unfortunate that some travellers had been inconvenienced for a short period of time.
"But we don't apologise for taking steps to ensure the safety of the South Australian community," he said.
"These people will have been inconvenienced for a relatively short period of time, whilst we made a proper assessment of the risk to South Australia."
SA relaxes hard border with Victoria
Until now, people from Victoria — including South Australian citizens — have been banned from travelling into SA unless they have essential traveller status.
Under changes announced today, people will be allowed to move to South Australia without an exemption, but they will have to self-isolate for 14 days on arrival.
The change does not apply to short-term stays.
"People from Victoria who are seeking to relocate to South Australia — we are changing the direction which will allow them to do so without having to seek an exemption," Commissioner Stevens said.
"They will have to provide specific information regarding employment or permanent accommodation. We will be able to allow that to occur without an exemption process having to be applied.
Currently, people in South Australian and Victorian cross-border communities are able to travel up to 70 kilometres either side of the border, for essential purposes only.
That restriction will also be eased to allow people to travel between cross-border communities without a specific reason.
"If you live in a cross border community, you are able to travel freely within the 70 kilometres either side of the border, without any specific purpose being … identified."
The state's transition committee is yet to outline when the border changes will take effect.
Bubble move follows controversy
Federal Tourism Minister Simon Birmingham urged South Australia to join the travel bubble earlier this morning.
"I think that is a very, very strong ground for South Australia to think about joining New South Wales and the Northern Territory in allowing New Zealanders free entry into SA," he told ABC Radio Adelaide.
Minister Birmingham said there was only "one active case [in] the entirety of New Zealand" and therefore NSW and the NT had opened their borders on "on good, sound health grounds".
According to latest figures on the website of the New Zealand Ministry of Health, there are in fact 37 active cases of COVID-19 in the country, with 36 currently in isolation or quarantine.
The minister's office clarified that he was referring to the one case of COVID-19 diagnosed outside of quarantine in New Zealand on Saturday.
It was the first case of community transmission detected in the country in three weeks.
The trans-Tasman travel bubble has caused controversy in recent days because of the dozens of New Zealand tourists who arrived in NSW and the NT, who went on to travel to states that had not formally opted in.
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews had said his government repeatedly asked to be excluded from the travel bubble arrangement.
But Minister Birmingham said this morning that every state and territory understood the full implications of the travel bubble before New Zealanders arrived.
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2020-10-20 00:47:00Z
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