Coronavirus SA: PM outlines national roadmap to get Australia’s economy back on track amid COVID-19 shutdown

SA again recorded zero cases of COVID-19 after a positive case on Thursday as Premier Steven Marshall reveals how the state will start its long road back to normality from Monday.

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Restrictions in SA will be lifted on regional travel, outdoor dining, university tutorials, libraries and auctions from Monday as the state gets coronavirus under its thumb and again today recorded zero cases of the disease.

Premier Steven Marshall made the SA-specific announcements on Friday, after a National Cabinet meeting with Prime Minister Scott Morrison which delivered a national roadmap of measures. From Monday, restrictions will be lifted on:

REGIONAL travel

UNIVERSITY and TAFE face-to-face tutorials.

OUTDOOR dining for restaurants and cafes.

COMMUNITY, youth and RSL halls.

AUCTIONS and inspections.

COUNCIL libraries.

OUTDOOR sports training.

FUNERALS, allowing 20 people indoor and 30 outdoor.

WORSHIP, weddings and ceremonies.

SWIMMING pools.

CAMPGROUNDS and caravan parks.

Emily Raven from My Kingdom for a horse cafe gearing up for reopening of in June. Picture: Tom Huntley

From June 8, changes will be considered for cinemas and theatres, seated dining, galleries and museums, beauty salons, driving lessons, gyms, further easing on funerals and competitive sport.

Other changes will be considered at a later date.

Premier Steven Marshall said SA had done an excellent job in combating the virus.

“We are very grateful to the people of SA for the way they have responded to the restrictions to date,” he said.

“That is the thing that has put us in such a great position in SA.”

SA has today recorded no new coronavirus cases.

The state has seen a total of 439 cases, only two of which are active.

No one is in intensive care.

SA Health chief public health officer Nicola Spurrier said it was critical people continued with precautions including social distancing and good hand and cough hygiene as restrictions were progressively lifted.

“If there are people in your family who you believe better get tested, please encourage everybody,” she said.

SA COVIDSAFE ROADMAP

WHAT THE PM’S PLAN SAYS ABOUT THESE KEY SECTORS

RETAIL

More retailers are expected to reopen their doors in the coming days following the easing of coronavirus restrictions. Prime Minister Scott Morrison outlined his three-step plan to return to a “COVID-safe economy” by July, including an initial focus on sectors including retail.

Stage One of the plan would see “retail and small cafes and restaurants reopening”, Mr Morrison announced on Friday, followed by beauty parlours, cinemas and other retailers in later weeks. “Step 2 will allow larger size gatherings of up to 20 people, including for venues such as cinemas and galleries - more retail openings on sector-based COVID-safe plans,” Mr Morrison said. Finer details on the implementation and timings of the three-step plan would be left to the state and territory governments, Mr Morrison confirmed. National retailers including Kathmandu, Rip Curl and Apple reopened their stores across SA this week, while Myer is expected to reopen its Adelaide stores as early as Monday following trials in NSW and Queensland. Premier Investments, which operates Smiggle, Peter Alexander, Just Jeans, Jay Jays, Dotti, Jacqui-E and Portmans, and Mosaic Brands, the operator of Noni B, Millers, Rivers, Rockmans and Katies, are working to a similar timeframe.

-Giueseppe Tauriello

An Apple customer has her temperature taken by an Apple staff member in the line up for the The Apple Store reopening in Rundle Mall on Thursday. Some stores recommened trading this week for the first time since the March shutdown. Photographer Emma Brasier

CAFES AND RESTAURANTS

Cafes and restaurants will reopen for a small number of customers under Stage One of Australia’s roadmap back to normal life, meaning South Australians will be able to start dining out again soon. But we’ll have to stay at home for drinks with friends for several more weeks at least, with pubs and clubs set to reopen under Stage Three of the plan. Some cafes and restaurants may not be able to open until Stage Two based on gathering restrictions however. Under the national guidelines, gatherings of up to 10 people will be allowed in public under Stage One and five guests at home - but this won’t apply in SA which has always allowed up to 10 people. It will lift to gatherings of up to 20 people under Stage Two and up to 100 people for Stage Three. Each state will decide when it wants to put these stages into practice.

- Claire Bickers

WEDDINGS AND FUNERALS

Small weddings with just 10 guests in addition to the couple and the celebrant will be able to restart soon under Stage One of the government’s three step plan back to normality. Up to 20 guests will be allowed under Stage Two and 100 guests will be allowed under Stage Three, meaning large weddings won’t be allowed to resume for months. Funeral restrictions will be relaxed to allow up to 20 mourners inside and 30 outdoors under Stage One. Currently, only 10 mourners are allowed at funerals. Up to 50 mourners will be allowed to attend funerals under Stage Two, and up to 100 under Stage Three. All weddings and funerals from Stage One to Stage Three must record contact details to allow for tracing if it becomes a cluster. -Claire Bickers

SCHOOLS, TAFE, UNIVERSITY

Mr Morrison said changes would include school classrooms and public playgrounds being reopened – which has already happened in SA where school attendance exceeds 80 per cent.Inside the classrooms was “the best place to get an education”, Mr Morrison said. Stage One says childcare centres and schools would open according to each state’s plans. Universities and technical colleges would “increase face-to-face (learning) where possible and prioritise hands-on, skills based learning”. Stage Two and Three would continue the process, with Stage Three also including “consider reopening residential colleges and international student travel”.

-Chris Russell

SCROLL THROUGH THE PM’S ROADMAP

SPORTS

The National Cabinet has recommended that for Stage One there still be no indoor physical activity, including gyms. However, the advice is that Community centres and outdoor gyms should be opened. Playgrounds and skate parks, that South Australia encouraged to be opened this week, are also on the stage one list. Non contact outdoor sport of up to 10 people, and pools with restrictions, are being encouraged.

-Matt Smith

OFFICE WORK

Office workers around Australia are expected to continue working from home until July, when Stage Three of the federal government’s “COVIDSafe” pathway comes into effect. People are advised to work from home “if it works for you and your employer” throughout stages One and Two. SA’s chief medical officer Dr Nicola Spurrier expects the attitude around sick leave to change as a result of COVID-19. “Many of us in the past, and myself included, have been real Trojans when it comes to work,” she said. “I just go to work even though I got a heavy cold … but certainly going forward I will not be doing that.” Chief Medical Officer Brendan Murphy also expects the “cavalier” attitude of going to work with cold or flu symptoms to end permanently. “One of the two permanent changes I can see forever is good quality hand hygiene and that stay at home if you’re unwell mentality,” he said.

-Gabriel Polychronis

TOURISM/ TRAVEL

Local and regional travel is a key part of the first step in the Federal Government’s three-step roadmap to reopen Australia’s economy by July. Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Stage One would involve intrastate recreational travel starting again.Stage Two will involve the consideration of interstate recreational travel, depending on the sisutation in each state and territory. Stage Three will see all interstate travel opened up. But the PM warned international travel would not be on the cards anytime soon. “There’s nothing on the radar to open up international travel in the foreseeable future,” he said. - Paula Thompson

GYMS

Gyms will be allowed to reopen under Stage Two of lifting coronavirus restrictions. While they may not be able to open up immediately, Prime Minister Scott Morrison has noted that South Australia is already well advanced in quashing the disease. Up to 20 people would be allowed into a gym at once, with physical distance and hygiene measures. It is not yet known when South Australia will move into the second stage of removing restrictions.

In the meantime, boot camps and outdoor personal training sessionfs will be allowed under the first stage of changes in groups of 10.

- Caleb Bond

LIVE MUSIC

The reopening of live music venues and other arts hubs will form part of the Federal Government’s third and final step in easing restrictions. Under Stage Three, gatherings of up to 100 would be permitted, allowing businesses like nightclubs to reopen. However, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the details would “become clearer as we move through the first two steps”. “The pace will be up to the states and territories,” Mr Morrison said.

“We will be reviewing progress every three weeks.” However, gatherings of up to 20 would be allowed under step two, which would open the likes of galleries and museums.

- Ben Cameron