SA’s borders to close to Victorians from midnight Wednesday night
South Australia’s borders will shut to Victorians from midnight Wednesday night. It comes as Premier Steven Marshall says there will be ‘greater scrutiny’ on all essential travel applications.
Coronavirus News
Don't miss out on the headlines from Coronavirus News. Followed categories will be added to My News.
- Victoria updates: Metropolitan Melbourne locked down
- See all our local and international coronavirus coverage
South Australia’s border with Victoria will close to all but essential travellers and local residents from midnight on Wednesday night, amid mounting concerns the escalating coronavirus crisis poses “a clear threat to public health”.
The Defence Force may join police in patrolling dozens of roads within days, after SA’s top cop authorised a “hard border” in the wake of a record 191 daily COVID-19 cases in Victoria on Tuesday.
SA residents, and those approved as essential travellers, are exempt.
Essential travellers must wear personal protective equipment, and keep records of their movements, while those living in border communities will be restricted on how far they can travel.
Anyone seeking medical treatment interstate can apply to be an essential traveller. All other Victorians are banned.
Any SA resident returning from Victoria will be required to quarantine for a fortnight.
Police Commissioner and state co-ordinator Grant Stevens said negotiations were continuing with the Australian Defence Force to supply help to more than 400 officers manning border checkpoints.
Some of the 65 sealed and unsealed roads would be closed or patrolled, he said, and extra officers will be sent to the South-East and Riverland.
A request for more police to volunteer on borders has been issued. Mr Stevens authorised the new restrictions after the State Government’s Transition Committee heard health warnings that Victoria was a “clear threat to public health in South Australia”. Cases have increased tenfold in Victoria in the past 14 days.
NSW and ACT border restrictions will remain until July 20 at this stage, Mr Stevens said, as he announced the new rules alongside Health Minister Stephen Wade and the state’s top public doctor Professor Nicola Spurrier.
Premier Steven Marshall said on Wednesday morning there would also be greater scrutiny around essential traveller applications as COVID-19 cases spike in Victoria.
“We obviously still have trucks coming across the border but there is very much a heightened level of scrutiny for anybody coming across the border going forward,” he told ABC Radio Adelaide.
“There is much greater scrutiny on every single application. We are moving away from exemptions or classifications as essential travel being done at the border to being done in advance.”
Mr Marshall recognised that some families are now unable to see each other as SA imposes a hard border with Victoria.
“We’ve got to take steps to protect the broader people in SA,” he said.
“We know that this is going to have a real effect in terms of family reunification which was planned around July 20.”
Mr Marshall also flagged the possibility of travellers paying for their own hotel fees when quarantining, which will be discussed at Friday’s National Cabinet meeting.
Currently, each state government foots the hotel bills for their citizens, regardless of which state they are quarantining in.
“If a South Australian goes into a hotel in Victoria or in NSW, QLD or WA, we would receive the bill for that,” Mr Marshall said.
“With regards to whether or not we would charge people who are returning for their time in those hotels, that’s something the National Cabinet hasn’t made a decision on - and I think that is on the agenda for this Friday’s meeting.”
SA Health on Tuesday revealed an eighth day of zero daily local patients, more than 105 days since the last community transmission case.
Mr Stevens said the border restrictions were in place indefinitely but any changes were unlikely for at least a fortnight. “I think we will certainly minimise the opportunities for people to sneak through the border restrictions,” he said.
“Based on the health advice we received, and monitoring the performance of COVID-19 in Victoria, it is a significant risk to the community of Australia. And most (states) are reconsidering their attitude in terms of Victorians travelling.
“We are concerned about the impacts of COVID-19 on the (SA) community given we have … relaxed the restrictions so businesses can get back to trading and people can start to enjoying life as close to normal as possible. That level of movement … does create risk if COVID-19 finds its way in.”
Prof Spurrier urged the sick to be tested. “As a nation, we are really in a difficult situation at the moment,” she said.
“The numbers in Victoria are absolutely worrying.”
Mount Gambier Mayor Lynette Martin said the rules were understandable. She said an issue was ensuring border communities can access PPE.
Renmark Paringa Mayor Neil Martinson said “we all have to run with” the rules.