Locals fire up over last minute decision to close SA border to Melbourne
SA’s decision to suddenly close its borders to Greater Melbourne – causing a rush as people try to cross over – has left many furious.
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A late-night, last minute decision to close South Australia’s border with Greater Melbourne at midnight on Thursday has infuriated residents, who have labelled the move “ridiculous” and “paranoid”.
The announcement to close the border from 12.01am Thursday was made about 9pm on Wednesday, giving those in the wrong state just three hours to get home, after it was flagged as a possibility earlier in the day.
One man shared his fury to Twitter, claiming there had not been enough time given for people to get home.
“I am sitting at the border as we speak,” user Frankie-0 tweeted about 11.05pm on Wednesday.
“Unbelievable queue not moving. Not many going to make midnight deadline.”
Rob Evans tweeted saying the border closure was “an over-reaction” that “didn’t even make sense”.
Sandra Palmira tweeted in response to SA Police and said: “This is ridiculous. You can't keep closing borders”.
Facebook users were also displeased, with one person comparing SA with Western Australia.
“Suddenly it feels like we’re living in WA. Constant panic mode. Disappointing,” they wrote.
Ben Tucker said the hard lockdowns and 14 days of isolation were “killing businesses” between the two states.
“The test on return with quarantine until negative result was surely enough. Maybe add a mask in public until day five test if you want to be paranoid,” he posted.
Police Commissioner Grant Stevens advised of the decision at about 9pm on Wednesday after he warned travellers that the changes were likely earlier in the day.
He said police had an obligation to prevent the possible spread of COVID-19 getting into SA.
“We would probably be criticised if we waited 24-48 hours so we could mobilise additional resources and give people time to get their travel arrangements in order to travel back into SA,” he told ABC Radio on Thursday morning.
“It’s a two-edged sword; we either move too quickly and minimise risk or we move more slowly, acknowledging we might let people surge through into SA potentially carrying COVID-19.”
Under the changes, those who travelled from Greater Melbourne after the deadline are no longer allowed to enter SA unless they are deemed an essential traveller or are an exempt person.
People who will be granted exemptions are returning South Australians, those genuinely relocating to the state or are escaping domestic violence with an approval prior to entry.
But they must complete 14 days of quarantine and be COVID-19 tested on days one, five and 12.
People who had been physically present on site at the Holiday Inn Airport on or after 12.01am on January 27 for more than 15 minutes are also considered close contacts.
They must also isolate for two weeks and be tested one days one, five and 12.
The restrictions do not apply for travellers from other parts of Victoria.
People from other jurisdictions are allowed to transit through Melbourne Airport, as long as they had not been in restricted or prohibited location for 14 days, were only at the airport for two hours or less and wore a face mask for the entirety of the transit, including the duration of the flight.
Commissioner Stevens — who is also the State Coordinator — said authorities were closely monitoring the situation.
“Our steps in South Australia are taken with an abundance of caution to make sure that we are minimising the risk,” Mr Stevens said on Wednesday.
It comes as a truck driver died near the Bordertown checkpoint — near the Victorian border — and another two were taken to hospital.
The three trucks collided along the Western Highway in Victoria, which is the continuation of the Duke highway in SA.
Just before 2.30am, one truck crashed into the rear of another station truck and hit into a third about 5km east of the border.
All three vehicles burst into flames.
The Dukes Highway has been closed as a result.
Senior Constable Kate Dawson told the ABC the police were back at the checkpoint after rushing to help with the incident.
“There is a large backlog of travellers,” she said.
“They did arrive at that checkpoint prior to midnight and they are going to process those traveller to get them in but they're not accepting any new vehicles.”
Motorists travelling to Victoria are being diverted via Naracoorte.
Originally published as Locals fire up over last minute decision to close SA border to Melbourne
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