COVID-safe marshals required for shopping centres, gyms, licensed venues in SA from August 21
Dedicated COVID marshals will be required in SA at licensed venues and larger retail outlets, as Victorian cross-border communities are banned from entering SA.
Coronavirus
Don't miss out on the headlines from Coronavirus. Followed categories will be added to My News.
- COVID update for August 11: No new cases
- Our brave nurses on the eastern front
- Kara Jung: These restrictions are better than another lockdown
Thousands of Victorians living in border communities will be banned from coming to SA to shop, care, work and go to school, in a crackdown to prevent the deadly coronavirus second wave jumping state lines.
Authorities also ordered dedicated “marshals” into scores of venues with high levels of customers from next week, despite a fifth consecutive day of zero new local COVID-19 cases.
The State Government will unveil an aged-care industry crackdown today.
Police Commissioner Grant Stevens also revealed a relaxation on the number of people allowed at private gatherings.
He said up to 10 visitors above those who live at the residential premises will be allowed, with a maximum cap of 20 people in homes.
A cap of 100 attendees will be enforced at indoor and outdoor private gatherings.
The “tighter controls” on border communities, new venue rules and home changes come into force from midnight tonight before a seven-day transition period. While no end date was announced, authorities review rules daily.
Announcing the changes as Victoria faced its deadliest day, and Adelaide COVID clinics faced more overwhelming demand, Police Commissioner Grant Stevens said he was acting on SA Health advice to prevent a second wave after a surge of cases was reported in western Victoria.
He said current “low level restrictions leave us vulnerable to significant spread”.
“We are seeing concerning trends coming from Victoria, which we are trying to address without impacting on the viability on businesses,” he said.
“But on a higher level, we are looking at trying to establish a framework that will be in place for the foreseeable future that protects the … community against COVID-19.”
Mr Stevens, who is also the state’s COVID co-ordinator, said border community restrictions would be “tightened”.
Those who had permits for employment, education, providing and receiving care or support, obtaining food, petrol, medical as well as other supplies will not be able to enter from Victoria. They can reapply under other essential traveller categories and other health-approved exemptions.
Exemptions will be granted for farmers whose properties span the border as well as Year 11 and Year 12 students. Schools will implement home learning for affected interstate students.
“We understand this is going to have an impact,” said Mr Stevens, who detailed the changes alongside Health Minister Stephen Wade.
“It is deemed this is a critical step to ensure the safety of the … community and to further minimise the risk of (the virus) finding its way into our regional communities and then the wider metropolitan area.”
Local mayors said the bans would be tough on communities. The new “highly visible” marshals will help monitor venue capacity, physical distancing, infection controls and hygiene rules.
While details are still being finalised with industry groups, licensed venues, cafes, shopping centres, supermarkets, retail shops, gyms and places of worships will be required to have a monitor.
Smaller businesses can allocate the duties to a worker but larger venues may need to hire.
They will be required to undertake free online training.
The Opposition called for financial assistance for venues. Mr Stevens said marshals would not have enforcement powers or authority to fine patrons but will be a “visual reminder”. They are urged to call police for repeated breaches.
“We recognise these restrictions do have an adverse impact on businesses’ ability to trade effectively,” he said.
“We are looking at ways to ensure high levels of safety in these gathering locations without having to put caps on their numbers.”
SA Health on Wednesday said there were six “active” local patients, down from eight on Tuesday. Five patients are linked to the Thebarton cluster, which Mr Stevens said appeared to be contained. There were 5513 tests on Tuesday, taking the total to 299,549.
There has also been unprecedented demand at Adelaide’s drive through clinics.
The dedicated “COVID-19 marshal” in licensed venues will monitor crowd behaviour and compliance with restrictions, under official plans to fight against a potential coronavirus second wave.
The State Government’s transition committee on Tuesday discussed new crowd controls and a fresh crackdown on aged-care facilities.
Under the plans, the details of which are still being thrashed out, pub, clubs and other licensed venues, such as restaurants, would need a “marshal” on staff.
The monitor, who could be a country pub manager, venue security guard or nurse, would be specially trained in controls such as social-distancing, crowd controls and health advice.
Premier Steven Marshall, who has just returned from a four-day holiday to Queensland for his son’s graduation, suggested the monitors could be rolled out at transport yards or fitness studios as authorities assess the relevant “risks”.
Speaking at a building site in North Adelaide on Wednesday, hours after The Advertiser revealed details of the plan, he said while the plans had not yet been finalised, it did not mean having dedicated staff who “don’t have any other tasks”.
“We are looking to make sure that there is somebody who is responsible for the COVID-safe plan on licensed premises,” he said.
“But not just on licensed premises but other premises here in South Australia.
“We will do everything we can to keep our state safe, keep as many people employed as possible and we’ve been working with the industry to identify ways that we can keep the same level of restrictions, and that means not increasing them even further like they are in other states.
“But at the same time keeping patrons safe. We need to have somebody responsible on site. When everybody is essentially responsible sometimes it means that nobody is responsible.
“We need somebody to go to, to check that COVID-safe plan and to take action if we need to.”
The Opposition called on the Government to provide financial assistance to struggling venues. The industry has called for “flexibility” in the rules.
Demand surges at drive-through testing clinics
Mr Marshall apologised for the increased demand at drive-through clinics after reports the southern suburbs’ Repat facility, Daw Park, was diverting patients just 10 minutes after opening on Wednesday. He said the public was taking the disease “very seriously”.
“There is a heightened level of anxiety in South Australia with what’s happening across the border in Victoria,” he said.
“What we have seen is the number of tests that people are having are massively increasing and we’re very glad about that.”
He said chief public health officer Professor Nicola Spurrier has been encouraging anybody with the slightest symptom to get themselves tested.
He said SA Pathology had relaxed restrictions for drive-through clinics, meaning patients no longer needed a GP referral.
“What we’re seeing is a delay at certain parts of the day,” he said.
“And we apologise for that but it is difficult because people aren’t booking in, they can just turn up.
“And from to time there have been those delays. And we apologise for that. My understanding is there was a bit of a peak this morning but things have settled down this afternoon.”
New restrictions for aged-care homes
New bans introduced last week included home gatherings being cut from 50 people to 10. People are also only allowed to drink alcohol in licensed venues while seated.
Mr Stevens revealed the committee also discussed introducing new aged-care rules within days.
The Advertiser revealed SA’s 284 aged-care homes faced the new health crackdown to protect vulnerable residents from a resurgent virus that has ravaged the sector in Victoria.
Measures may include bans on carers working at multiple nursing homes, placing potentially contagious patients in compulsory isolation and boosting infection control training. Visitor restrictions could also apply.
The details emerged amid more overwhelming demand at Adelaide’s drive-through clinics after an SA Pathology IT blunder caused delays in sending out alerts.
An extra 20 staff will be recruited to phone results to patients, while another 40 personnel will help testing processes after some patients waited up to a week for their results.
There were 4029 checks on Monday, taking the total number of tests to 294,036.
Average daily checks have gone from 2500 to a record 7254 last Friday. Police on Tuesday diverted patients away from the Repat testing clinic to the Victoria Park facility, days after similar problems at the Hampstead Centre.
SA Health said eight “active” – or infectious – patients were recovering, five of whom were linked to the “Thebarton cluster”.
The Government also announced a 25 per cent surge in TAFE course applications such as health.
Shannon Stanbridge, 38, of New Port, is happy retraining in pathology collection due to uncertainty with her Virgin Airlines customer job.
