SA borders reopen to WA, NT, parts of Qld, as Canberra Airport boss threatens to halt flights

South Australia’s borders are set to reopen to Western Australia, the Northern Territory and parts of Queensland, but will remain closed to New South Wales and the ACT.

SA’s borders will reopen immediately to Western Australia, the Northern Territory and parts of Queensland after a Covid-19 transition committee meeting this morning.

Those returning from WA or NT will still need to comply with level 3 restrictions, and submit to testing on day 1, quarantine until receiving a negative result, and submit to further testing on days 5 and 13. However, all restrictions are set to be lifted on Sunday.

SA’s borders will remain closed (level 6 restrictions) with key areas of Queensland, particularly South East Queensland, including Brisbane, Moreton Bay, the Gold Coast, the Sunshine Coast, Redland, Noosa, Logan, The Lockyer Valley, Scenic Rim and Somerset.

Level 3 restrictions will apply to people arriving from Townsville and those who attended the Big Red Bash at Birdsville.

No restrictions will apply to the remainder of Queensland. Transit through Brisbane Airport is allowed.

The changes are effective immediately, meaning those in home isolation in South Australia are allowed to leave their homes if they have been in areas now under level 3 restrictions. They will still need to submit to testing on the required days.

People who have been at an identified exposure risk site must stay in isolation regardless of where they travelled from. And people who have been to a level 3 restriction zone are not allowed to visit aged care homes, hospitals unless sick, or attend Covid-controlled events with more than 1000 people.

People who arrived from Queensland before 10.45am on Thursday remain subject to the conditions under which they entered.

Premier Steven Marshall has announced border changes. Picture: NCA NewsWire / David Mariuz

But Premier Steven Marshall announced SA’s borders to NSW and the ACT would remain closed.

“We would like to ease the border restrictions between the ACT and SA but because of the Delta variant, because of our concerns there, we won’t be doing that today,” he said.

“The Delta variant is very, very transmissible, we don’t want it here in South Australia.

“We think that this is a balanced approach given the level of risk that’s there at the moment but we’re hoping to open that up when the risk subsides.

“A massive thank you to South Australians for continuing their high level of testing, their high level of compliance with restrictions that remain in place here in South Australia and again putting up with these border closures.

“We know that they have been very difficult. Especially around these school holidays.

“But we know that they have been necessary to keep our state safe and our economy strong.”

In regards to Broken Hill restrictions, Mr Marshall said people living in the border bubble could travel freely between Broken Hill and SA and vice versa.

But people travelling through Broken Hill from other parts of NSW were not permitted to enter SA, he said.

Responding to the threats from Canberra Airport chief executive officer Stephen Byron to block flights from SA (see below), Mr Marshall said “the reality is we’ve got to take action to protect our state and we don’t make any apologies for that”.

“The ACT airport boss can make his decisions, we have to make our decisions,” he said.

New data this morning revealed that, according to vaccine supply, Australia could reach herd immunity by November 2.

Mr Marshall would not be drawn on a specific date herd immunity could be reached in SA, but said he looked forward to lifting restrictions when it was “safe to do so”.

“I’m looking forward to the day when we’re not going to have restrictions on international borders but I think that is still some time to come.

“We’ve got to make sure we get this vaccination rate up as high as we can.”

Mr Marshall said at the moment, the demand and supply for vaccinations was in balance.

He said SA’s supply was likely to be significantly higher in the next couple of months, at which point there would be a focus on encouraging all people to get vaccinated.

Chief public health officer Nicola Spurrier announced that SA had recorded one new Covid-19 case in the past 24 hours – a man in his 20s who arrived from overseas.

She said a 29-year-old man was also in hospital with Covid-19 complications.

About 7000 tests were conducted in SA on Wednesday.

Prof Spurrier said the situation in NSW was concerning, but that there was still an opportunity to stamp out the Delta strain.

“Look, I would never throw in the towel on this,” she said.

“The Delta strain can cause severe disease, it causes at least as severe disease as the previous variants of Covid.

“I think we all have to get behind NSW.”

She urged South Australians who had friends living in NSW to give them their support through phone calls and video messages.

Airport boss threatens to halt SA flights

Robyn Ironside and Andrew Hough

Flights from Adelaide to Canberra are at risk of being suspended indefinitely unless Premier Steven Marshall rules out future border closures to areas that have no local transmission of Covid-19.

Canberra Airport chief executive officer Stephen Byron is furious South Australia and Western Australia remain closed to the ACT despite the territory not having a locally transmitted case of the virus since July 2020.

The states closed borders last month in response to the Covid outbreak in Greater Sydney, which is about to enter a third week of lockdown. SA’s Covid-19 transition committee will meet today to debate various hard border bans amid hope some travel will resume.

Mr Byron said it made no sense that Canberra residents could travel to Queensland and New Zealand but not Adelaide or Perth, and it was time for tough action.

“Our proposal is that flights between Perth and Canberra and Adelaide and Canberra be suspended until we, the airport and the airlines, get a guarantee that borders will not be closed while there are zero cases,” he said.

Qantas and Virgin planes lying dormant at Adelaide Airport in June last year. Picture: Emma Brasier

“These governments are shutting down our business and putting people out of work, and there is no lawful reason why.”

He said the Sydney cluster had not come close to the ACT at all, but two weeks into a lockdown of Sydney the ACT remained off limits to South Australians.

“There is no health reason for the borders to be closed. We are not allowing residents from Greater Sydney to come to the ACT.”

Mr Byron has written to Mr Marshall and the committee “urgently” asking them to reopen the border with the ACT.

Police Commissioner Grant Stevens on Wednesday flagged borders with Western Australia and the Northern Territory may reopen immediately after Thursday’s meeting.

He’ll make a final decision after considering the latest advice from chief public health officer Professor Nicola Spurrier about interstate outbreaks.

“I’m sure that will be a great relief to people wanting to get away during the school holidays or people who have been stuck in those states or territories,” Mr Stevens said.

“If we’ve decided the risk is now manageable, then there is no reason why it shouldn’t happen immediately. I would be hopeful we can make some positive announcements.”

But Mr Stevens, who as state Covid co-ordinator authorises travel directions, said it was unlikely restrictions would ease with NSW or the ACT. He said the committee would debate lifting Queensland travel bans based on council areas, while likely keeping the border closed to Brisbane.

Mr Marshall this week said officials had looked “very carefully” at the ACT travel ban. A state government spokesman said that position had not changed.

“We know that it’s hugely inconvenient for people that are living in Canberra, but my understanding is there are more than 10,000 people from Sydney currently in the ACT who were in quarantine,” he said. “So, it is a dangerous situation.”