SA relaxes border rules for NSW, WA visitors
Travellers coming to SA from WA or NSW will no longer need to undergo mandatory coronavirus tests.
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SA health authorities say NSW and Western Australia travellers will no longer be required to have coronavirus tests after arriving in the state.
Premier Steven Marshall and chief public health officer Nicola Spurrier announced the change this afternoon. It will take effect from midnight Saturday.
The Adelaide Fringe, WOMADelaide and the Adelaide International should still go ahead, despite the snap closure of the Victorian border though.
The latest border changes comes after South Australia slammed its Victorian border shut at short notice yesterday, barring residents of the Greater Melbourne area from entering the state after midnight.
Hours later, a truck driver died after a three-truck crash on the Western Highway at Serviceton at about 2.30am, sparking new criticism of SA’s reaction to the Victorian situation.
Drivers have told of chaotic scenes near Bordertown as rushing travellers queued to try to cross into SA.
Witnesses told Melbourne’s 3AW radio that there was a line of trucks stretching 10km back from the Victorian/South Australian border.
“Truckies, I’m told, were abusing SA police; the last-minute border closure was bedlam,” host Neil Mitchell.
The snap border closure came after a quarantine hotel outbreak in Melbourne continued to grow yesterday, with several workers testing positive for coronavirus.
The outbreak has again seen new changes across the country to states’ hotel quarantine systems, this time with medical nebulisers being banned from use inside the quarantine hotels.
Mr Marshall and Prof Spurrier offered their condolences to the family of the truck driver who died in the crash and injured victims.
They said the matter was being investigated by Victorian police. SA Police are also investigate the fatal crash.
Police commissioner Grant Stevens said it would not be fair to speculate if a lack of police resources at the border closure led to the fatal crash.
He said police would conduct inquiries and examine the facts.
He said the number of police at the border dropped to three officers later in the night but two more were sent to assist them as the queue grew longer overnight.
“I would encourage people to do what I’m doing and wait until we have the full set of facts of the circumstances,” Mr Stevens said.
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