Restaurant and Catering Australia says the state government must overhaul ‘futile’ Covid exit strategy

An open-border virus surge will quickly wreck SA’s reopening if Covid-positive customers can still force vaccinated staff to quarantine, frustrated traders say.

The Lane Vineyard’s chief executive Jared Stringer says strict quarantine lockdowns will cripple his business as it enters its busiest period. Picture Dean Martin

Fully vaccinated retail workers should not have to quarantine for 14 days if exposed to a Covid close contact once the state’s borders open, the state’s hospitality industry says.

The state government is reviewing the definition of a close and casual Covid contacts ahead of the November 23 opening of borders when it is expected 80 per cent of South Australians aged over 16 will be fully vaccinated.

Restaurant and Catering Australia chief executive Wes Lambert said it would be an “exercise in futility” if the fully vaccinated workers, who came into contact with a Covid positive case after November 23, still had to quarantine for two weeks.

“If staff are double vaxxed it makes no sense, as we learn to live with Covid and the state and country surpasses the 80 per cent vaccination rate, to leave the same trace and isolation requirements in place,” he said.

“The association continues to work with the SA government to come into line with other states and their redesignation of close and casual contacts if staff have been double vaccinated and are wearing masks.

“NSW and Victoria have both published reasonable close and casual contact matrixes that will help businesses, including those in hospitality, live with Covid.”

Restaurant and Catering Australia chief executive officer Wes Lambert.

Premier Steven Marshall

Premier Steven Marshall, when announcing the government’s Covid road map on Tuesday, said the government will still need to keep “test, trace and isolate” protocols from November 23 when double-vaccinated people will be able to enter SA without needing to quarantine.

Under the latest Victoria Health Covid contact protocols a vaccinated and masked person exposed to Covid in an area less than 100sq m for more than 15 minutes, but socially distanced from the carrier, is deemed at low risk and should monitor symptoms.

If they had direct physical contact or prolonged face-to-face contact with an infected person they must isolate for seven days down from 14 for an unvaccinated person.

NSW vaccinated people exposed to Covid in a space larger than 100 sqm are deemed at low risk and should monitor symptoms. If working in areas under 100 sqm they would have to isolate for at least 7 days if they spent more than 15 minutes with the infected contact.

Sydneysiders enjoying some normality after the easing of Covid restrictions. Picture: Gaye Gerard

Jared Stringer, chief executive of the The Lane Vineyard, Hahndorf, said businesses would be crippled and in “perpetual lockdown” if they were forced to put double-vaccinated staff into two-weeks lockdown “every time a confirmed case comes in” SA.

“I would much rather have seen us hold off on opening borders and relaxing restrictions at the 90 per cent double vaccination rate if it meant we no longer had to put close contacts into quarantine,” he said.

“It is coming into the busiest time of the year, we have got weddings every weekend, full restaurant and full cellar door.”

An SA Health spokeswoman said the government was working through “plans and processes” to manage patients in the community.

“Currently there’s significant community transmission in Victoria and NSW, and we know there will soon be cases coming into South Australia, so we need to keep some restrictions in place to allow us to control the amount of Covid coming into our community,” she said in a statement.

“We will continue to implement the model of testing, tracing, isolation, and quarantine for those considered as close contacts and most particularly those who are unvaccinated.

“The national guidelines are continuously being reviewed of what is defined as a close contact alongside requirements regarding isolation, and we will implement the recommended guidelines.”

She said “social measures” can be updated as community vaccination rates increased to 90 per cent.