Victorian pair fined for breaching COVID-19 SA border restrictions
Two men who twice tried to slide into SA through back roads – but were caught when their van became bogged – have been handed hefty fines for breaching COVID-19 restrictions.
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Two Victorian men were turned around at Bordertown on Thursday after attempting to slip into South Australia by evading the border checkpoint, in breach of new COVID-19 border restrictions.
The two young men were found in Senior, in the state’s South East and charged on-the-spot fines of more than $1000 each for breaching COVID border restrictions.
The strict border monitoring breach comes days after SA Health stood down a hotel quarantine security guard for not wearing a PPE mask.
An SA Health spokesperson said security guards working at the facility have been trained on the appropriate use of PPE for their own safety and those around them.
Hotel quarantine security measures in Victoria have come under fire this week, as a security guard reported he only received five minutes of training before being tasked to one of Melbourne’s 15 quarantine hotels. Other sources revealed security guards slept with quarantined guests, breaching further restrictions.
Victoria reported 66 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday.
Premier Daniel Andrews announced a judicial inquiry into the state’s management of hotel quarantine this week after new infections were linked to breaches in quarantine.
Police allege the Victorian pair crossed into South Australia in a Volkswagen van, and were stopped at the checkpoint on the Dukes Highway, Bordertown, about 4am Thursday. Both occupants failed to complete an online application to enter the state, and were deemed to be non-essential travellers. They were advised if they wished to enter SA, they would need to self isolate for a period of 14 days. The pair decided to return to Victoria.
About 12 hours later, Bordertown police found the same van bogged on a dirt road near Pinehill Rd at Senior, in SA’s South East, with the same two occupants. The pair allegedly returned to Victoria, before re-entering South Australia, bypassing the border checkpoint and travelling along back roads into Bordertown.
A 23-year-old Tarneit man and an 18-year-old Dolahey man were each issued $1060 fines for failing to comply with a direction under the Emergency Management Act. They were again offered the opportunity to self isolate in SA for 14 days, but decided to return to Victoria.
SA police say they will continue to actively patrol cross border roads from Victoria, although it is impossible to cover every single road constantly.
“The message is simple, do the right thing, anyone detected having come into SA without the required approval can face penalties,” an SAPOL spokesperson said.
They would not confirm how many people have been caught evading border checkpoints.