Mask mandate police operation: More than $5k in fines in SA public transport crackdown

These people were doing the right thing by wearing masks on public transport – but a recent police operation saw dozens not complying, landing some with hefty fines.

Hundreds of people were threatened with fines in excess of $1000 in a recent crackdown on South Australians not wearing masks on public transport.

In the operation that ran from April 19 to May 15, 184 people were issued a caution notice, and 74 were provided with “education” on the rules around wearing masks.

A further five were issued an expiation notice.

Of the total 263 people approached in the operation, 118 were on a bus, 33 on a tram and 112 on train.

Doing the right thing: Public transport users wearing masks in the city. Picture: Michael Marschall

Masks are still required to be worn on all SA public transport by law, unless users have a medical exemption, and the fine for not complying is $1090.

In the recent blitz, police collected $5450.

A police spokesman said the purpose of the operation was to increase the compliance of mask wearing on public transport, “through a combination of education and enforcement, education was the preferred option”.

An investigation by The Advertiser revealed most people were wearing masks on public transport, including about 80 per cent of people on the Seaford to city train in recent weeks.

In another operation in February, 44 fine cautions and five fines were issued, as well as 28 verbal cautions.

Widespread mask mandates were scrapped on April 15, but remain in high-risk settings including hospitals and aged care facilities.

It is not yet known how long the mandates will remain.

Meanwhile, five schools have moved some of their students to remote learning and another has a class on a three-day circuit breaker, just as mask rules are about to ease.

Whyalla Town Primary School has sent at least one class home for three days to stop the spread of Covid-19.

Another five schools – Port Augusta Secondary School, Playford International College, Salisbury East High, Le Fevre High and Wirreanda Secondary School – all have some students doing remote learning.

On Wednesday, 2982 students and 550 staff were off sick with Covid-19.

But the Education Department pointed out that this was in stark contrast to the wave of infections spreading across schools in the last week of Term 1, when 5620 students and 847 staff were absent due to the coronavirus.

Le Fevre High principal Kirri Minnican wrote to parents saying some staff could not attend school because of Covid-19.

Therefore, home learning would begin for some year levels on Thursday.

On Tuesday, the state government announced they would scrap mask requirements in SA schools from next week and lifted the state’s Major Emergency Declaration after 793 days.

South Australian Secondary Principals’​ Association chief executive Jayne Heath said any rise in infections would be managed through circuit breakers and the reintroduction of masks among affected cohorts.

“What I’m hearing is that Term 2 is not as bad as it was in Term 1, and part of that is because schools have worked out processes of managing this,” Ms Heath said.

In other Covid-related news, North Adelaide’s Ben Jarman is now free to return to the SANFL after the league on Wednesday removed its vaccination policy.

The highest profile player among the 30 or so who are believed to have stood down from the SANFL men’s, women’s and underage competitions this season because of their refusal to have Covid-19 vaccinations, Jarman could be an important addition for North Adelaide, which is likely to lose forward Jacob Bauer in the AFL mid-season draft.

The policy, adopted in December last year, had required all players, coaches and support staff in all state league competitions and programs to be fully vaccinated prior to the start of the 2022 season.

In announcing the removal of its competitions vaccination policy, SANFL chief executive Darren Chandler said the league would continue to “strongly encourage football participants and volunteers to be fully vaccinated’’.