SA schoolies banned because of coronavirus pandemic
The SA Police Commissioner has confirmed the traditional end of year high-school leaver pilgrimage to Victor Harbor will not be going ahead as usual this year.
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Schoolies events are officially off and accommodation for student leavers will be significantly curtailed due to the coronavirus pandemic, it was announced today.
But Premier Steven Marshall said restrictions on the NSW border could be completely removed “as early as Tuesday”
The state’s Transition Committee debated a series of issues on Friday including borders and standing up while drinking in licensed venues.
No decisions were made on lifting border restrictions with New South Wales while patrons will still be required to drink while seated in pubs, clubs or other licensed venues such as restaurants.
Mr Marshall said if positive signs in NSW continued though a decision could be made next week.
Authorities on Friday announced that the schoolies events will not officially go ahead, despite a push from organisers, and numbers of attendees in accommodation such as local caravan parks will be restricted.
Officials are finalising arrangements that will include restrictions on the number of people per house for Airbnb-style rental accommodation.
SA Police Commissioner Grant Stevens had ruled out any concerts or major events taking place at Schoolies festivities in November, saying “it just simply can’t happen”.
Schoolies organisers had said if the festival was cancelled tickets will be refunded.”
While visitors can now freely travel between South Australia and the ACT, NSW travellers face restrictions until at least the end of next week.
Authorities relaxed travel bans with the nation’s capital airport, which took effect from midnight on Monday night.
The decisions came after authorities decided to relax ACT rules following weeks of publicly insisting that restrictions were considered simultaneously with NSW.
The details emerged as a group of Australian cricketers are due to arrive from Britain on Friday night, where they will quarantine at the Adelaide Oval’s new hotel.
In an olive branch to cricket authorities to help secure a series of high-profile matches including the Boxing Day Test, the eight players will be in a “bio-secure zone” for a fortnight.
The players include South Australian-born Kane Richardson along with Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Starc, Marnus Labuschagne, Matthew Wade, Ashton Agar, Sean Abbott and Riley Meredith. They will have their own floors and an isolated lift that will be fenced off from the public.
Despite rules stating international arrivals cannot leave their rooms, players have got the green light to move within the facility to train.
Mr Marshall said the repatriation of stranded Australians was being prioritised over international students as state officials negotiated with the federal government.
As states begin to reopen, Scott Morrison on Friday announced Australians travelling on domestic flights would need to provide their name, email, mobile and state of residence from October 1 to assist authorities with contact tracing.
An extra 1600 Australians will also be able to come home each week after state premiers agreed at National Cabinet to lift their caps on international arrivals in a phased increase by October 12.
The total cap will lift from 4000 to almost 5600 per week by early October, with SA taking up to 600 returning travellers per week, New South Wales taking 2950, Queensland taking 1000 and Western Australia taking 1025.
“This is going to help get more Australians home,” the Prime Minister said.
With about 26,000 Aussies still stranded overseas trying to get home, political leaders are also working to free up more hotel quarantine beds by allowing Australians to come home from COVID-free areas in New Zealand without having to quarantine.
That could free up almost 15 per cent more space for arrivals from other countries.
All contact tracing systems in Australia will also be digitally linked together by the Federal Government.
“If there were to be an outbreak in a particular place, what that means is that we would be able to swarm, harness the tracing capabilities of more states and territories to plug in to the tracing work that is being done in that particular jurisdiction,” Mr Morrison said.
Queensland also relaxed its borders to the ACT on Friday, while Tasmania partially relaxed its strict border closers.
