Australian Medical Association state president: We’ve opened our borders too soon

The Australian Medical Association state president says SA has opened its borders too early – and has predicted when we will start seeing cases.

Australian Medical Association state president Dr Michelle Atchison says South Australia has opened its borders too early, and predicts we will start to see cases before Christmas.

Dr Atchison said the AMA had called for borders not to be opened until SA reached an 80 per cent double vaccination rate plus an additional two week buffer.

“As far as the AMA is concerned we are jumping too early,” she said.

Premier Steven Marshall said second dose vaccination rates for South Australia were set to hit 79 per cent by the end of Tuesday, and 88 per cent were expected to have had their first dose.

Vaccine rates were initially predicted to hit 80 per cent by today, in line with the borders reopening.

AMA state president Dr Michelle Atchison says borders have opened too soon. Picture: Tricia Watkinson

Dr Atchison said while business sectors such as tourism welcomed the opening of borders, “it is not a relief for the medical sector.”

“Covid will come into South Australia and we are worried about how the health system is going to manage it,” she said.

“The sad reality is there are going to be cases coming in, whether it is this week or the next couple of weeks, we are likely to see some cases happening before Christmas.”

Dr Atchison warned there was a shortage of personal protective equipment for general practices.

SA’s borders opened this morning at 12.01am, and the first flight from Melbourne just before 8.30am.

Mr Marshall said the government had received more than 43,000 applications to enter the state.

He predicted South Australia would reach a 90 per cent double vaccination rate before the end of the year.

Dr Atchison baulked at moves to ease restrictions such as limits on venue capacity and crowd numbers at that point.

“I would be concerned about easing more restrictions at a time when people are gathering,” she said, noting Christmas and New Year events have the potential to be “spreader” events.

She also warned that while there was enough intensive care unit bed capacity at the moment, SA ran the risk of seeing Covid cases “overtaking business as usual so people needing ICU beds for other reasons won’t manage.”

This could see elective surgery cancelled as the system struggles to cope.

Dr Atchison also raised concern about the capacity for rural health services to deal with caring for cases in their communities, and urged people with symptoms – both in Adelaide and regional communities – to call ahead and advise the clinic if they were going to their GP.

She also stressed it was not too late to get vaccinated and even a first dose would provide protection as the risk of Covid in the community increases.