Marshals ride off into the sunset as Covid-19 mask requirements end on Friday
From today, SA businesses will no longer need a Covid marshal as restrictions ease. Most people also won’t need masks, and the Adelaide Oval is dropping a big rule too.
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Masks are not the only Covid measures to come down from Good Friday.
As of midnight on Thursday, businesses will no longer be required to have a Covid marshal.
Only those business with a Covid Management Plan for 1000 or more people will be required to have a marshal.
Premier Peter Malinauskas said the decision had been made by the state government in consultation with the state co-ordinator and chief public health officer.
“In effect, this means pubs, cafes, shops and the like will no longer need a COVID marshal,” he said.
“This will help remove yet another burden on SA small businesses.
“With the progressive removal of the requirement for masks, QR codes and density restrictions there is no longer a need for Covid marshals.”
You can keep your mask in your pocket, along with your proof of Covid vaccination status, at the Adelaide Oval.
The Oval announced on Thursday that from Friday, patrons will no longer be required to wear masks when entering or moving around the stadium.
QR code requirements have been scrapped, as has the need to show proof of your Covid vaccination status.
“This change has been made on the basis of South Australia’s high vaccination rate, continued easing of restrictions and the return to 100 per cent stadium capacity,” a spokesman said in a statement.
“It will still be a requirement that all Adelaide Oval staff are double vaccinated.”
MASKS COME DOWN
South Australians will be ditching their masks in most public places for the first time in 289 days – and also forget about QR code check-ins.
But public transport passengers will be required to keep covered up, and it’s still unclear whether school students will have to mask up next term.
Premier Peter Malinauskas announced masks will go by Easter after state cabinet’s emergency management council on Tuesday heard it was safe to make changes – but mask rules for school students in Term 2 are still being worked through.
In new legal directions, mandatory masks for most indoor public locations will be scrapped from 12.01am on Friday and the QR code check-in regime has been shelved.
Masks are no longer required in retail shops, supermarkets and licensed venues such as pubs and clubs, as well as personal care locations including hairdressers or beauty salons.
But as foreshadowed by the Sunday Mail, masks will stay on public transport, taxis and rideshare and high-risk locations including hospitals and health, aged or disability care facilities.
“Wearing a mask is a choice … if there are South Australians who are no longer required to wear masks bust want to continue to wear them, they should,” Mr Malinauskas said.
“There is nothing wrong with wanting to wear a mask that provides your family or loved one with more protection than what would be the case if you don’t wear a mask.”
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“We will assess the requirement to wear masks in schools as we get closer to the resumption of school,” Mr Malinauskas said.
“In that three weeks, anything is possible – three weeks in Covid time is basically three years ... so let’s wait and see how that progresses in three weeks.
“The use of masks in schools has been an important risk mitigation tool to try and reduce the spread.
“The reason why I want to buy that time is because none of us want to see kids wearing masks in schools if they don’t have to.
“The only reason why mask requirements would be maintained in schools is if there was an absolute imperative to do so.”
Schools go on holidays from this Thursday.
Airport staff including cabin crew who are close contacts will be allowed to return to work, with testing, to ease airport delays.
The Premier also said 140 additional hospital beds had been made available in the public health system in the past three weeks to cope with the Covid peak.
Mr Malinauskas also made comment on the Adelaide clubber who partied at city nightclub Loverboy while infectious with Covid-19 but escaped a conviction.
In the Adelaide Magistrates Court on Monday, Ralph James Mackenzie MacIntosh, 20, was fined $600 for flouting directions over a visit to a popular coffee shop knowing he had coronavirus.
Mr MacIntosh, from one of South Australia’s wealthiest families, was charged with visiting Loverboy nightclub after failing to read an SA Health message at 10.18pm on Friday, December 17 last year.
“I feel for the people who had to miss out on Christmas with their families ... I think South Australians have a right to be upset about that,” Mr Malinauskas said.
“I can absolutely sympathise with the frustration that some South Australians have with the decision the courts have handed down.”
Chief public health officer Professor Nicola Spurrier said vaccination levels had improved up to 57 per cent and encouraged those that hadn’t yet to get vaccinated.
She also said she would continue to wear her face mask in busy public areas and backed any South Australian who wished to do the same.
“It’s really important that we’re kind and considerate to other people who might want to continue to wear their mask,” she said.
“If you see someone wearing a mask, please give them a thumbs up and a smile.”
SA Health on Tuesday recorded 4401 new cases, with 232 patients in hospital – including 12 in ICU and two of those on ventilators.
Six people have died, all aged over 50.
There are 36,521 active cases in SA as of Tuesday, April 12 – about 25 per cent of cases are children.
Prof Spurrier said data showed the unvaccinated “have triple the chance of dying”.
SA Health figures show 50 triple-boosted patients died per 100,000 people, compared to 114.61 for double-dosed and 159.71 for the unvaccinated.
“Our local SA data shows that adults who are triple-vaccinated have the most protection against severe impacts of Covid-19,” she said.
SA Health has allowed close contact GPs, dentist and pharmacists to leave isolation early subject to testing rules.
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