SA’s Covid roadmap revealed: When restrictions will be dropped and state borders reopened

There has been a mixed reaction from readers to news borders will reopen within weeks and most social restrictions will be dropped by Christmas. Get the key details and vote in our poll.

South Australia will reopen within weeks and most Covid-19 restrictions will likely lift by Christmas, as authorities unveil our roadmap out of the pandemic.

In a highly anticipated announcement, the state’s hard borders with NSW, Victoria and ACT, as well as international travel, will be lifted on November 23 – a new date when the key 80 per cent vaccination target is now forecast to be hit.

Quarantine rules will still apply to areas where community transmission is still occurring and in council zones where fewer than 80 per cent of the population is fully vaccinated.

Testing will also stay in place and travellers will need to provide proof of a negative Covid test three days before entering SA.

The Advertiser’s readers have mixed opinions to the roadmap, with some expressing excitement, and others saying more could be done to ease restrictions sooner.

A poll (see below) conducted by The Advertiser.com had received 3300 responses at 6am Wednesday, with nearly half, or 43 per cent of respondents, saying the easing of restrictions was too cautious.

But many, 39 per cent, of respondents said the plan was a good balance between caution and progress, and the remaining 18 per cent thought the plan was too progressive.

Nick Babadimas, Maddie Murphy and Jessica McHugh celebrate the prospect of hospitality restrictions loosening at SkyCity Eos’s Sol Bar. Picture: Matt Turner

Other minor changes to occur at that target – a week earlier than previous projections – will include lifting home gathering caps from 20 people to 30 guests including household residents.

Many restrictions will remain at 80 per cent – such as masks in indoor public settings and density limits at public venues.

Double-jabbed international travellers would be required to spend a week in quarantine while unvaccinated arrivals will have to serve a full fortnight in isolation.

Border bans and statewide lockdowns would no longer be required but current restrictions around QR code check-ins, contact tracing, isolation and quarantine would remain.

Under the roadmap plan, which the transition committee signed off on Tuesday, the big changes will occur once 90 per cent of South Australians aged 12 and older are vaccinated – which the Premier said he expects to happen before Christmas.

At that point, all other major restrictions for hospitality venues and private gatherings would be dumped.

SA’s current vaccination figures for over-16s are 63.1 per cent fully vaccinated and 79.6 per cent first dose. For those aged 12 and over, the figures are 60.5 per cent fully vaccinated and 77.6 per cent first dose.

A plan to impose a “buffer zone” of up to three months was abandoned after new SA Health modelling showed the measure was unnecessary with such high vaccination rates.

Restrictions to go at 90 per cent will include public mask use, density limits, gathering and crowd caps, as well as bans on standing up while drinking alcohol and dancing in licensed venues.

Only fully vaccinated people can participate in “high-risk activities” such as attending nightclubs or standing with alcohol.

The government plans to “sit down with the industry” to work out how those checks will be managed.

Masks must still be worn in high-risk settings such as hospitals, aged-care facilities and corrections facilities.

SA Health Covid management plans, for events with more than 1000 guests, will also be required.

While the date SA is forecast to hit 90 per cent has not yet been revealed, SA Health modelling – based on current jab rates – predicts that target will be met before Christmas.

Authorities say this will mean SA will be “almost back to Covid normal” by Christmas.

South Australia's Premier and Covid chiefs Professor Nicola Spurrier and Police Commissioner Grant Stevens have announced the state's road out of Covid restrictions.

Premier Steven Marshall, who has implored people to get vaccinated to avoid a “pandemic of the unvaccinated”, made the announcement on Tuesday alongside Police Commissioner Grant Stevens, who will authorise all new directions as state Covid co-ordinator.

“South Australians have worked extraordinarily hard over the past 19 months. They’ve stood shoulder together in a time which can only be described as one of the most turbulent in recent history,” Mr Marshall said.

“Quite frankly, if you had told me that we would be getting to 80 per cent double-vaccinated 16 and over by the 23rd of November three months ago, I would have said ‘you’re dreaming’.

“The reality is South Australia has again, hit it out of the ballpark and I have every expectation that’s going to continue.”

Mr Marshall said he was confident the state was ready for Delta and the hospital system would cope with a surge in cases.

WATCH THE PRESS CONFERENCE REPLAY

He said the state would still need to keep “test, trace, isolate quarantine protocols” if somebody becomes infected.

“They will need to go into isolation, and so will their close contacts,” he said.

“Because we don’t want this just to wash through. We won’t be able to keep it out, but we don’t want to accelerate it.”

Health Minister Stephen Wade and chief public health officer Professor Nicola Spurrier were also present at the announcement.

The committee, which had failed to reach a position for weeks, was satisfied the health system will cope with an influx of imported Delta cases once border restrictions ease.

A boost in resources will allow people with Covid to recover at home.

Original SA Health modelling had predicted December 3 would be the 80 per cent target rate but a surge of people getting vaccinated has dramatically accelerated the goal.

Certain local government areas with low vaccination rates will now be blitzed in a desperate bid to lift sluggish rates amid fears unvaccinated people could end up in hospital or face death.

Mr Marshall said authorities were “looking very closely” at the issue of unequal vaccination rates in some areas.

“The reality is it’s not a minimum standard, it’s a standard across the state. But you don’t want to have some LGAs at 90 per cent and some LGAs at 20 per cent,” he said.

He said strong restrictions would still apply to people coming to SA from areas with low vaccination rates.

“If they are coming from an LGA where there is community transfer and vaccination rates below 90 per cent there will be a requirement for testing and symptom declaration, and below 80 per cent there will be quarantine,” he said.

Professor Spurrier and Mr Stevens said contact-tracing and QR code check-in requirements would continue for the foreseeable future.

Mr Stevens reiterated a commitment to keep QR codes to manage Covid-19 only.

“We’re at the point now where we’re introducing Covid-19 into the community,” he said.

“I think it’s reasonable to assume that for at least the next few months, we’re still dealing with Covid-19.”

Authorities fast-tracked the decision to publish the roadmap after earlier considering publicly releasing details later in the week.

The decision came hours after The Advertiser revealed major “conflicts” over the plan and leaked details about what was being considered.