AFL chiefs may skip 14-day quarantine if grand final was held here
Opposition is rising to the idea that senior sport bosses may be able to skip SA’s mandatory 14-day quarantine COVID period if the AFL Grand Final is held here.
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Most respondents to an Advertiser poll do not want sports VIPs uch as AFL boss Gillon McLachlan and “key stakeholders” to be given exemptions from the 14-day quarantine, if the State Government’s pitch for the Grand Final is successful.
As Premier Steven Marshall prepares to make his bid to Mr McLachlan and AFL leadership on Thursday for the finals, he revealed exemptions may be part of the deal.
While some workers such as broadcast technicians coming from interstate would be required to quarantine, the game’s top echelon may be given a free pass to fly in, stay at the Adelaide Oval hotel, enjoy the game, then fly home.
More than 1300 have so far voted in the Advertiser poll that asked readers if they supported a proposal for senior AFL bosses to be able to skip the quarantine period. As of 8.50am on Friday, 77 per cent of respondents said they did not back the scheme, as the rule applies to everyone. While 23 per cent did back the idea, if proper procedures are followed, such as tests.
Mr Marshall said he would leave any final decision to SA Health experts and it would be based on safety, rather than seniority.
“We are still working through some of the arrangements today for VIPs and key stakeholders,” Mr Marshall said on Thursday.
Mr Marshall declined to say how many people might be allowed to attend Adelaide Oval should the bid be successful, because it would be subject to changing safety conditions and also not to give competing states the information.
He said SA’s record in dealing with the virus should be a key consideration, and winning the rights to the Grand Final would be an economic boost both in visitor numbers of people coming from “safe” jurisdictions and an estimated global TV audience of nine million people in 100 countries.
“It is a great opportunity to showcase what we have achieved in managing the pandemic.”
The prospect of a free pass for VIPs to the footy comes as changes reinstating the 40km buffer for Victorian border communities and increasing home gatherings to up to 50 people come into force at midnight.
However, hopes of opening the border to people from NSW within a fortnight without the need to self-isolate for 14 days are fading, with Mr Marshall saying increasing COVID-19 case numbers in NSW had cast a shadow over the plan.
NSW has 176 active cases, including nine new infections recorded yesterday. Reopening the border to NSW and ACT residents is likely to be a hot topic at Friday’s transition committee meeting.
Police Commissioner Grant Stevens apologised to border communities for the inconvenience of the recent “hard border” restrictions while noting it was for the safety of the broader community.
He said there had been no new cases on the Victorian border in 14 days, which gave SA Health experts confidence to ease the restrictions for border communities.
Victorians living near the border can, as of Friday, re-enter the state within a 40km radius for shopping, petrol supplies, education, employment and care giving.
Mr Marshall will also formally request paid pandemic leave for South Australians in a letter to Scott Morrison as early as Friday.
The move comes after the Prime Minister gave Tasmanians access to the $1500 lump-sum payments following a request from that state’s government.
The payments are for people required to self-isolate who have no sick leave entitlements left.
Mr Morrison had previously said the payment would go to states if they had a disaster on the scale of Victoria’s coronavirus outbreak. Mr Morrison will today call for a nationally consistent appeals process for Australians whose applications to cross closed state borders are rejected.
The PM will also make his strongest push yet for states to ease border restrictions putting “enormous stress and strain” on Australians, saying they are not “substitutes” for testing, tracing, COVID-safe behaviours and outbreak containment.